Royal Honour Bestowed on Kees Neggers, Former RIPE NCC Executive Board Chairman

[Apologies for duplicate emails]

Dear colleagues,

On 20 June 2012, Kees Neggers, who served on the RIPE NCC Executive 
Board from 1999 to 2008, was made an Officer in the Order of Orange 
Nassau (Orde van Oranje Nassau). The royal honour was bestowed by the 
Mayor of Heumen at a symposium for Kees's outstanding contribution to 
Dutch society.

During his tenure as Chairman of the RIPE NCC Executive Board, Kees 
ensured the strong involvement of Europe in the administration of the 
Internet worldwide and the Netherlands’s continued position as a centre 
of excellence for the Internet industry.

He oversaw the administration of the Internet in over 100 countries in 
Europe, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. It was during 
his tenure on the RIPE NCC Board that Africa was able to establish its 
own RIR to be become one of the five organisations managing Internet 
number resources in the world today.

Kees has always ensured that the Netherlands was involved in the task 
forces that drove the development of the Internet globally. He led the 
involvement of SURFnet and other Dutch technology companies in sharing 
best practices and experiences with similar organisations around the world.

He has always been a strong advocate for the principles of open, 
inclusive and bottom-up industry self-regulation. It is these very 
principles that still guide RIPE, the RIPE NCC, TERENA and others that 
contribute to the successful management of the Internet globally.

Kees Neggers is one of the most influential figures in the Internet 
community. He was instrumental in shaping the model that is currently 
used to manage the global IP address system.

We ask that you join us in congratulating Kees on receiving this very 
special honour.

Best regards,

Axel Pawlik
Managing Director
RIPE NCC