Wangari Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya (Africa) in 1940.
The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree.
Wangari Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas, USA (1964).
She pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi.
Wangari Maathai was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman in 1981-87. It was while she served in the National Council of Women that she introduced the idea of planting trees with the people in 1976 and continued to develop it into a broad-based, grassroots organization whose main focus is the planting of trees with women groups in order to conserve the environment and improve their quality of life.
Through the Green Belt Movement, she has assisted women in planting more than 20 million trees on their farms and on schools and church compounds.
In 1986, the Movement established a Pan African Green Belt Network and has exposed over 40 individuals from other African countries to the approach.
Wangari Maathai is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation.
She has addressed the UN on several occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly for the five-year review of the earth summit.
She and the Green Belt Movement have received numerous awards, most notably the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.
In June 1997, Wangari was elected by Earth Times as one of 100 persons in the world who have made a difference in the environmental arena.
In December 2002, Professor Maathai was elected to parliament with an overwhelming 98% of the vote.
She was subsequently appointed by the president, as Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife in Kenya’s ninth parliament.
Source: www.nobelprize.com
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