Professor Dr. Werner Rodolfo Greuter, (born February 27, 1938) in Genova

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, as a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 national, is a prominent botanist. He is well-known as the chair of the Editorial Committee for the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) - both the previous St Louis Code (2000), and Tokyo Code (1994), but not the current Vienna Code (2006). His proposed policy as regards registration of botanical names proved unpopular and in 1999 he stepped back, not being elected anew: he merely completed his term as chair to be succeeded at Vienna in 2005.

Biography

Prof. Greuter went to schools in Bellinzona

Bellinzona

Bellinzona is the administrative capital of the canton Ticino in Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000....

 and Winterthur

Winterthur

Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...

, and received his PhD from the University of Zürich

University of Zurich

The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....

 in 1972.

He was appointed on April 1, 1978 to his current position: Professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of biology in the Institute of Biology at the Free University of Berlin

Free University of Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...

, Germany, and First Director of the University's Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum (BGBM) in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

.

Awards

• OPTIMA Gold Medal, 1998.
• Distinguished Services Award, XVI International Botanical Congress, St Louis, Missouri
• Theophrastus Medal of Honour of the Hellenic Botanical Society, 2000
• Honorary Professorship (Categoría Docente Especial de Profesor Invitado), Universidad de La Habana, 2004