page_title: Wangari Maathai
hierarchical_section_title: Wangari Maathai
caption_attribution_description: From Wash. D.C. 2005 capitol hill
context_page_description: Wangarĩ Muta Maathai was a renowned Kenyan social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica, her Master's Degree at the University of Pittsburgh, and went on to become the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a PhD, at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
  In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 1984, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "converting the Kenyan ecological debate into mass action for reforestation." Maathai was an elected member of Parliament and served as assistant minister for Environment and Natural resources in the government of President Mwai Kibaki between January 2003 and November 2005. She was an Honorary Councillor of the World Future Council. She was affiliated to professional bodies and received several awards. On Sunday, 25 September 2011, Maathai died of complications from ovarian cancer.
context_section_description: Wangarĩ Muta Maathai (/wænˈɡɑːri mɑːˈtaɪ/; 1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a renowned Kenyan social, environmental and political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica (Benedictine College), her Master's Degree at the University of Pittsburgh, and went on to become the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a PhD, at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
  In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 1984, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "converting the Kenyan ecological debate into mass action for reforestation." Maathai was an elected member of Parliament and served as assistant minister for Environment and Natural resources in the government of President Mwai Kibaki between January 2003 and November 2005. She was an Honorary Councillor of the World Future Council. She was affiliated to professional bodies and received several awards.  On Sunday, 25 September 2011, Maathai died of complications from ovarian cancer.
caption: Maathai in 2001
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