DES MOINES, Iowa — A familiar face for Iowans will be taking over as president of the World Food Prize Foundation, the organization announced Tuesday.
Former Iowa Gov. and U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad was named the president of the foundation that awards the world's best achievements in agriculture, combatting hunger and promoting food security around the world.
"I am honored to lead an organization bringing together the world's greatest agricultural scientists and fostering the next generation of innovators," Branstad said in a statement. "The World Food Prize is known globally for celebrating groundbreaking advances in biosciences, and I am proud to continue to build upon that Borlaug-Ruan legacy."
As the longest-serving governor in the history of Iowa and the United States as a whole, Branstad played an integral part in creating the Iowa Hunger Summit among other accomplishments.
The summit is a bipartisan collaboration aimed at tackling food insecurity in the Hawkeye state.
Paul Shickler, chair of the World Food Prize Foundation, praised Branstad's commitments to a future with less hunger, saying in part:
"We are excited to bring on a leader with both global vision and strong roots in agriculture... [he] was serving as Governor of Iowa when John Ruan, Sr., rescued the World Food Prize and moved it to Iowa, has been a champion of our mission from its earliest days."
Before Branstad, Barbara Stinson served three years as president of the World Food Prize Foundation before her January 2023 departure.
Each October, the foundation presents a $250,000 prize to an individual for their "achievements in improving the quality, quantity and availability of food in the world" in downtown Des Moines.