Green Cross International is founded by Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
During a speech to the World Forum in Moscow, Gorbachev proposed to found an international Green Cross, which offers aid to states in ecological problems. During his years in office, Gorbachev spoke repeatedly about the mutual connection between threats to the earth and her inhabitants, shaped by nuclear and chemical armament, non-sustainable development, and human-caused degradation of our ecosystems. According to him, the world needed an organization which would apply the medical emergency response model of the International Red Cross to ecological issues and would advance solutions for ecological problems which transcend national borders.
This was the inception of Green Cross.
IN MEMORIAM
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has died.
Gorbachev, who lived to be 91 years old, was at the forefront of world politics for many years. With his policies of ‘Glasnost’ and ‘Perestroika’ he allowed more freedoms than any of his predecessors. Partly because of this, he eventually saw the Soviet Union fall apart and many countries regained their newfound freedom practically non-violently, which unfortunately was experienced very differently by most former Soviet Union citizens.
My special and inspiring encounters with him in Geneva and New-Orleans/USA, among others, will always remain with me.
Gorbachev’s health has been ailing in recent years.
He was hospitalized several times, where he underwent a number of surgeries. According to Russian media, he died “after a long illness” in a hospital in Moscow.
We are deeply grateful to Michael Gorbachev for his great and tireless efforts to bring more justice, peace and eco-consciousness to this world and will always remember him as a beacon of hope.
Mark J. Lambregts
director of Green Cross Netherlands
also on behalf of the board, the CvA, the RvA
and all colleagues and volunteers
Click here for Michael Gorbachev’s answer to the question ‘Why is Green Cross relevant today?’
Click here for an excerpt from his latest interview for BBC News.
How will Mikhail Gorbachev be remembered?
The death of Mikhail Gorbachev is widely being mourned as the loss of a champion of freedom who helped end the Cold War. But the legacy of the last leader of the Soviet Union is very different at home, where many view him as the man responsible for its collapse. His passing received a cool response in Russia. Many people there regard the war in Ukraine as necessary to regain some of the power the former USSR lost when it fell.
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra
