MEMO/11/634
Brussels, 26 September 2011
Joint statement by High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Piebalgs on the death of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai
‘It is with sadness that we have heard of the passing away of Kenya's Nobel Peace laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai. We wish to offer our sincere condolences to her family and friends. Professor Maathai's death is a great loss to the environmentalist movement but also to pro-democracy and women's rights movements across Africa and beyond. As the first African woman to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, she will be remembered for her bold action on environmental sustainability, women's empowerment and democratic rights.’
