The German Green Party was not the first Green Party in Europe to have members elected nationally but the impression was created that they had been, because they attracted the most media attention: The German Greens, contended in their first national election in 1980.
Filozofske korenine o varovanju okolja segajo daleč nazaj v obdobje razsvetljenstva; med prvimi misleci sta bila Rousseau v Franciji in kasneje avtor in naravoslovec Thoreau v Ameriki.