Leslie Denis Swindale (16 March 1928 – 25 September 2022) was a New Zealand-born soil scientist, agriculturist, writer and a former chairman of the Department Agronomy and Soil Science of the University of Hawaii.
[citation needed] He was the author of several books on soil and agricultural sciences[1] and was a part of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
He started his career as a physical chemist at the New Zealand Soil Bureau and held several notable positions which included Director of New Zealand Pottery and Ceramics Research Association, Lower Hutt (1960–1963), Professor and chairman of department of agronomy and soil science at the University of Hawaii (1963–1968), Chief of Soil Resources Development and Consultant with the Food and Agriculture Organization (1968–1970), Associate director of Hawaii Agricultural Experimental Station, Honolulu (1970–1976), Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, India (1977–1989) before becoming the Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research at Patancheru (1989–1990)[citation needed] He was the author of several books on soil and agricultural sciences[1] and was a part of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
[citation needed] In 1991, he became one of among the few foreign nationals to be honored by the Government of India, when he was selected for the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, for his contributions to science.
[5] Swindale was married to Delle Sprinza Natelson and the couple had two sons and a daughter.