By Peace Hero Museum Vienna
Wangari Muta Maathai was the first African woman who received the Noble Peace Prize in 2004, and became the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a PhD. She was born in Nyeri District, Kenya in 1940, and died in 2011. She got her bachelor’s degree in Biological Science from Mount St. Scholastica College, Master of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, and did her doctoral studies in Nairobi.
In 1976, she became the Head of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at University College of Nairobi, and became associate professor a year later. Dr. Maathai also served as the chairperson of the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) from 1976 to 1987.
In 1977, she founded the Green Belt Movement, a non-governmental organization that focuses on planting trees with women to both improve the quality of their lives and protect the environment. During the third global women’s conference in Nairobi, she gave presentations about the Green Belt Movement and got the attention of the head of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). In 1986, with the support of UNIFEM, she expanded the movement throughout Africa and established the Pan-African Green Belt Network. She assisted women in planting 20 million trees.
Wangari Maathai has spent tireless efforts promoting democracy, human rights and environmental discussions and has spoken at special sessions of the General Assembly for the five-year review of the Earth Summit on behalf of women. She has served on the board of several organizations such as the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament, the Jane Goodall Institute, Women and Environment Development Organization, World Learning for International Development, Green Cross International, Environment Liaison and National Council of Women in Kenya.
In 2002, Dr. Maathai was elected to parliament, and was appointed as Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife. In 2005, she was elected as the first president of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union. She was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for an initiative aimed at protecting the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem.
Dr. Maathai and her organization have received more than 27 national and international awards including the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. She has also received honorary degrees from universities around the world such as William’s College in 1990, Hobart & William Smith Colleges in 1994, the University of Norway in 1997, and Yale University in 2004. She was recognized as a peace hero by PeaceByPeace in 2009 and as a peace hero by Peace Museum Vienna in 2015.