Bent Skovmand

Sir Bent Skovmand (January 25 1945&mdash; February 6 2007) was a Danish plant scientist and conservationist.

Skovmand was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark. After serving in the Danish Army, Skovmand attended the University of Minnesota in the US as part of the Minnesota Agricultural Student Trainee international exchange program. He graduated in 1971 with a major in biological and physical sciences in agriculture, and then earned his masters in 1973 and doctorate in 1976 from Minnesota

After completing his doctorate, he joined the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in El Batán, Mexico, where he studied older seed strains and genetic variation among widespread strains. He also worked with governments and farmers across the world to increase the use of the advanced crops being developed.

He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Dannebrog in 2003.

Continuing his work on preserving the genetic diversity among wheats, barleys, and oats, he was appointed the director of the Nordic Gene Bank, based in Alnarp, Sweden, in 2003, and founded the Svalbard International Seed Vault.

Skovmand fell ill in January 2007, and died at age 62 from complications from a malignant brain tumour.