[A legend of tropical veterinary medicine: Dick Zwart]

An overview is given of the achievements of Professor Dr. D. Zwart (1930-2005). Following a brief introduction dealing with his background, his first eleven years of working in tropical countries are reviewed. Initially he was employed as a government veterinarian in Dutch New Guinea, followed by five years as a scientist at the agricultural faculty in Kumasi, Ghana, where he completed his PhD on liver cirrhosis in local pigs. He was seconded by the Department of Tropical Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University to work as a virologist in Vom, Nigeria. Once back in The Netherlands, he was selected to take over the position of head of the Department due to the unexpected death of Professor S. G. Wilson. He stayed for 20 years at Utrecht University and was for another nine years department head at the Agricultural University of Wageningen. He was an influential man during this long period as department head, not only for his students, but also in the international field. Four aspects of the achievements by Dick are highlighted in detail: as a scientist, as an educator, as a stimulating figure, and as a visionary.