Wangari Maathai

Awarded for

Her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace

The story behind the prize

Maathai was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate. In 1977 she started the Green Belt Movement, paying rural women to plant trees, which fought deforestation and gave women an income. She also campaigned for democracy in Kenya.

About

Kenyan environmentalist who founded the Green Belt Movement, which planted tens of millions of trees.

Exam facts

• First African woman to win a Nobel Prize
• First environmentalist to win the Peace Prize