Boonyaruk Suebsiri has had a distinguished career with more than 40 years of service in land development in the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, from which he retired in 2002 as Director-General.
Boonyaruk was part of a long line of international students at Queensland Agricultural College and one of only the second group of students from Thailand to graduate from The University of Queensland.
Since then, Boonyaruk has re-visited Australia 18 times for conferences and on official business with the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). He has also led numerous study tours of soil conservation schemes in Australia and New Zealand.
Born in Thailand on October 10, 1934, Boonyaruk Suebsiri was educated at Wantana Silpa School before gaining a Diploma in Animal Husbandry from Queensland Agricultural High School and College (1954–56) and a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree from The University of Queensland (1957–59).
On returning to Thailand, he joined the Department of Land Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation. Having won scholarships from the Government of Thailand to study in the United States, he completed a Master of Agricultural Science at Mississippi State University and a course in Public Administration in Agricultural Development at the University of Wisconsin.
In recognition of his outstanding achievements in his vocation and his contributions to industry, Boonyaruk Suebsiri, (Diploma in Animal Husbandry (QAHSC) , Bachelor of Agricultural Science (UQ) , Master of Agricultural Science (Mississippi State University), and Public Administration in Agricultural Development (University of Wisconsin), was awarded the UQ Gatton Gold Medal for 2002.
