Henry Alfred Kissinger is an American diplomat, political scientist, geopolitical consultant, and politician who served as United States secretary of state and national security advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. For his actions negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam, Kissinger received the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize under controversial circumstances.
Terry Edward Branstad is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and again from 2011 to 2017. He is the longest serving governor in United States history. Branstad served as the United States Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2020 under President Donald Trump.
Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It is one of four four-year post-secondary institutions in the City of Dubuque, one of four Catholic colleges in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, and one of six Catholic colleges in the state of Iowa. The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Loras College Historic District in 2020.
Winston Lord is an American diplomat and leader of non-governmental foreign policy organizations. He has served as Special Assistant to the National Security Advisor (1970–1973), Director of the State Department Policy Planning Staff (1973–1977), President of the Council on Foreign Relations (1977–1985), Ambassador to China (1985–1989), and Assistant Secretary of State (1993–1997).
Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan was an Indian agronomist, agricultural scientist, plant geneticist, administrator, and humanitarian. Swaminathan was a global leader of the green revolution. He has been called the main architect of the green revolution in India for his leadership and role in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice. Swaminathan's collaborative scientific efforts with Norman Borlaug, spearheading a mass movement with farmers and other scientists and backed by public policies, saved India and Pakistan from certain famine-like conditions in the 1960s. His leadership as director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines was instrumental in his being awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987, recognized as one of the highest honours in the field of agriculture. The United Nations Environment Programme has called him "the Father of Economic Ecology".
The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug and established in 1986 through the support of General Foods, the prize is envisioned and promoted as the Nobel or the highest honors in the field of food and agriculture. It is now administered by the World Food Prize Foundation with support from numerous sponsors. Since 1987, the prize has been awarded annually to recognize contributions in any field involved in the world food supply, such as animal science, aquaculture, soil science, water conservation, nutrition, health, plant science, seed science, plant pathology, crop protection, food technology, food safety, policy, research, infrastructure, emergency relief, and poverty alleviation and hunger.
Robert James Nicholson is an attorney, real estate developer, and a former Republican National Committee chairman. He was the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from January 26, 2005, until October 1, 2007.
Thomas Reeve "Tom" Pickering is a retired United States ambassador. Among his many diplomatic appointments, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.
Robert Orris Blake Jr. is an American career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 2006 to 2009, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs from 2009 to 2013 and Ambassador to Indonesia from 2014 to 2016.
Dan Mozena is a United States Foreign Service Officer and a member of the Senior Foreign Service. He served as the United States Ambassador to Angola 2007–2010 and as United States Ambassador to Bangladesh 2011–2015.
Laurence Desaix Anderson was a career United States Foreign Service officer specializing in East Asian affairs, and served as American Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Vietnam.
Kenneth Ian Juster is a veteran American diplomat, who served as the United States Ambassador to India from 2017 to 2021. He is currently Senior Counselor at the global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Senior Adviser at the institutional investor CDPQ, Strategic Adviser at the software company Salesforce, and Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
David Floyd Lambertson of Kansas served as United States Ambassador to Thailand from September 1991 until August 1995.
Morton Isaac Abramowitz is an American diplomat and former U.S. State Department official. Starting his overseas career in Taipei, Taiwan after joining the foreign service, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Thailand and Turkey and as the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. He retired from the State Department with the rank of Career Ambassador. He then became president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and founded the International Crisis Group.
Jo Luck is an American and former CEO of Heifer International. She was recognized with a World Food Prize in 2010.
Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was an Indian-born Mexican scientist and winner of the 2014 World Food Prize. He was awarded this prize for his scientific research in developing 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries. This innovation has led to an increase in world wheat production – by more than 200 million tons – building upon the successes of the Green Revolution. The Government of India awarded him highest civilian awards Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2022).
Ken Rizer was an American politician. A former Republican, he served the 68th District in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2015 to 2018. Rizer is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force.
Christopher Landau is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021. He was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump.
