death_date death_place birth_place birth_date image article_title name
6 february 2007 kävlinge , sweden frederiksberg , denmark 25 january 1945 bent jpg skovmand , direktor for nordisk genbank 2004-2007 . bent skovmand
 bent skovmand
bent skovmand

sir bent skovmand -lrb- january 25 , 1945 -- february 6 , 2007 -rrb- was a danish plant scientist and conservationist .
`` time magazine '' wrote in 1991 that skovmand , '' ` while not exactly a household name , ' had had ` more to do with the welfare of the world 's five billion people than many heads of state . ' ''
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 both in plant pathology from the university of 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 the 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 .
the seed vault , also called the `` doomsday vault '' , is supported by the global crop diversity trust and aims to preserve `` the raw material of agriculture '' to make it available for breeding and research even in the advent of disaster , war , or climate change .
the vault was scheduled to open in late 2008 .
skovmand was opposed to patenting individual genes , describing it as `` like copyrighting each and every word in `` hamlet '' , and saying no one can use any word used in hamlet without paying the author '' .
he routinely released his catalogs of agricultural information on cds , which he gave away for free , never attempting to patent the work .
in his work with the international maize and wheat improvement center , skovmand set up collaborations with for-profit companies to develop improved strains of agricultural staples , with the proviso that patents not be used in developing nations .
skovmand had four children , two with his wife eugenia , and two by a previous marriage .
skovmand fell ill in january 2007 , and died february 6 , 2007 , at age 62 in kävlinge , sweden , from complications from a malignant brain tumour .
