Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. In the 1970s, Maathai founded the Greenbelt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women’s rights. In 1986, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, and in 2004, she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” She died in 2011.