Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan national who won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2004 thanks to her commitment to the environment, died on Sunday, September 25, 2011 at the age of 71.

She had a PhD in biology and was the first African woman to receive the prestigious distinction of the Nobel Prize for Peace. In 1977, she founded the "Green Belt Movement" which planted about 40 million trees in Africa. She gave a new impetus to the struggle for biodiversity, environmental protection, job creation for women and their empowerment in society.

Wangari Maathai led the Kenyan Red Cross society in the 1970s and was appointed Secretary of State for the Environment in Kenya from 2003 to 2005. She also led the "Kenya National Women’s Council" and created in 2003 the “Mazingira Green Party”.
In 2006, she published her autobiography under the title "Unbowed: The Story of a Woman". In this book, she drew attention to the degradation of the environment in the Mount Kenya region under the effect of climate change.

Wangari Maathai extended her struggle for the environment beyond her native country to the whole of Africa. In recent years, the activist focused on the preservation of the Congo Basin Forest in Central Africa.

ITUC-Africa is saddened by her passing away. Actually, prior to the death of the icon, ITUC-Africa had invited her to participate as an important resource person in the New Year School it is planning to hold in January 2012 in Kisumu, KENYA.

ITUC-Africa pays a special tribute to her for her courage, toughness and insight in the fight for sustainable development and Africa’s emancipation.

We will always remember this brave woman who has left her mark on humanity.