Royal decoration for John van Ruiten
Publicationdate:
On Friday, April 19, John van Ruiten received a Royal decoration from Mayor Astrid Heijstee of the municipality of Kaag en Braassem. John van Ruiten has been appointed Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau. Mayor Heijstee presented the award during John van Ruiten's farewell as director at Naktuinbouw. Family, board members, sector board and advisory commission members, representatives of trade organisations from the horticultural industry and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality were present.
Great dedication
John van Ruiten (1957) devoted himself to the interests of Dutch horticulture as director of Naktuinbouw and its predecessors for 39 years with great dedication. Particularly focusing on the arboriculture, floriculture, and vegetable crop sectors.
Noteworthy activities
Van Ruiten advocated for the introduction of a European system. He played a key role in combining phytosanitary and quality requirements, as outlined in various European regulations, to establish an efficient system for the industry and European trade. He consistently reasoned from a standpoint of the common good.
Van Ruiten also participated in numerous projects to raise awareness of the importance of a robust plant breeder's rights system and to assist in its implementation. He thereby assisted countries in Africa, South America, and Asia in taking significant steps in this complex world. Additionally, he utilized his expertise in agriculture and horticulture for the so-called 'Twinning projects' in former Eastern Europe. These projects support candidate member states in their accession to the European Union. They involved countries such as Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania.
Wide-ranging contributions
Van Ruiten also serves as chairman of the Dutch Association of Botanical Gardens (NVBT), an umbrella organization comprising 27 gardens across the Netherlands. He is a board member of the Netherlands Institute of Biology (NIBI) and associated with the professional journal 'Prophyta'. Locally, he collaborated with residents and businesses on the Sotaweg / De Baan in Roelofarendsveen to achieve responsible area development. His contributions contributed to this part of the municipality being recognized as a 'horticultural research area'.
The board, management, and staff of Naktuinbouw congratulate John van Ruiten on this prestigious award and wish him a happy retirement.