Petra Kelly
Petra Kelly
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Petra Adriane Helene Kelly was a German politician and environmentalist. She is often referred to as "Die Grüne" (The Green).
Birth and Death Dates
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Petra Kelly was born on November 29, 1947, in Gais, Switzerland. She passed away on October 22, 1992, in Berlin, Germany.
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Kelly's nationality was Swiss-German. Throughout her life, she pursued various careers including politician, activist, author, and speaker.
Early Life and Background
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Growing up in a family of modest means, Kelly developed an early interest in social justice and environmental issues. Her parents were devout Catholics who encouraged her to engage with politics and activism from a young age. After completing her secondary education, Kelly moved to Germany where she began studying political science at the University of Munich.
Major Accomplishments
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Kelly's groundbreaking contributions include co-founding the German Green Party (Die Grüne) in 1979 alongside other notable activists like Herbert Gruhl and Dieter Berg. This marked a pivotal moment for environmental politics, shifting Germany's focus towards sustainable development. Kelly's vision of a decentralized, ecological society inspired countless supporters across Europe.
Notable Works or Actions
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Kelly was an influential voice on various policy issues including disarmament, human rights, and the treatment of migrants. Some notable works include:
"Why War?" (1985) - A book in which Kelly argued that nuclear war is fundamentally incompatible with human values.
Disarmament efforts: Kelly advocated tirelessly for disarmament, co-authoring the Green Party's peace program in 1980 and pushing through initiatives like the Nuclear Freeze Campaign.
Impact and Legacy
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Kelly's work had a lasting impact on Germany and beyond. Her vision of an ecological society helped to shape European environmental policies, paving the way for subsequent green movements around the world. Kelly received international recognition for her efforts, including the Right Livelihood Award in 1982, and was named one of Time magazine's "100 heroes for the planet."
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Kelly's commitment to creating a more just and sustainable world has left an indelible mark on modern politics. Her unwavering dedication to human rights and environmental protection has inspired countless individuals worldwide, making her one of the most influential voices of the 20th century.
Petra Kelly's legacy is a testament to what can be achieved through relentless passion and conviction in the pursuit of a better future for all.
Quotes by Petra Kelly
I appeal to women not to let themselves become corrupted by male power. Emancipation is something more than a ‘ticket’ to serve in the army.
Militarism is in direct competition with people’s needs for food, health care, and environmental protection.
Overturning patriarchy does not mean replacing men’s dominance with women’s dominance. That would merely maintain the patriarchal pattern of dominance. We need to transform the pattern itself.
Uranium is the raw material of a power-elite who has taken Mother Earth’s every living creature hostage.
Peace is not just the absence of mass destruction, but a positive internal and external condition in which people are free so that they can grow to their full potential.
The vision I see is not only a movement of direct democracy, of self- and co-determination and non-violence, but a movement in which politics means the power to love and the power to feel united on the spaceship Earth...
Uranium is the raw material of a power-elite who has taken Mother Earth's every living creature hostage.
European peace movement felt that the deployment of these missiles on European soil, on German soil would be a very great danger towards the Soviet Union in that those missiles could reach the Soviet Union, make it vulnerable within five to six minutes, that it could surgical strikes, strikes into the military infrastructure and that a strike into the military infrastructure could cause in fact World War III, an atomic world war and that this could also be used for first strike, for surgical search, first strike into the Soviet Union.
The profound political changes we need in order to heal our planet will not come about through fragmented problem solving or intellectual analyses that overlook the deepest yearnings and intuitions of the heart....As we begin to cultivate a rich inner life and experience our connection with all life, we realize how little of what society tells us we need is actually important for our well-being....Green politics must address the spiritual vacuum of industrial society.