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von Uexkull, Jakob

von Uexkull, Jakob

Fellow, World Academy of Art & Science; Chair, World Future Council

Job Title

Fellow, World Academy of Art & Science; Chair, World Future Council

Born in Uppsala, Sweden, Jakob von Uexkull is the son of the author and journalist Gösta von Uexkull and grandson of the biologist Jakob von Uexkull. After schooling in Sweden and Germany he graduated with an M.A. (Honours) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Christ Church, Oxford. He holds both Swedish and German nationality. JvU is married and has three children. He lives with his family in London.

Jakob von Uexkull is the founder (1980) of the Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize'. He is a co-founder (1984) of The Other Economic Summit and a past Member of the European Parliament (1987-9) where he served on the Political Affairs Committee. He is a patron of Friends of the Earth International and a member of the Global Commission to Fund the United Nations. He served on the UNESCO Commission on Human Duties and Responsibilities (1998-2000). He has also served on the Board of Greenpeace, Germany, and on the Council of Governance of Transparency International. He lectures widely on environment, justice and peace issues. He is also a recognised philatelic expert with publications including 'The Early Postal History of Saudi Arabia' (London, 2001).

Jakob von Uexkull has been honoured by Time Magazine as a European Hero (2005). In 2006, he received the Binding-Prize (Liechtenstein) for the protection of nature and the environment, and, in 2008, the Erich-Fromm-Prize in Stuttgart, Germany. He has also received the Future Research Prize of the State of Salzburg, Austria (1999), the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana of the Republic of Estonia (2001), and the Order of Merit First Class of the Federal Republic of Germany (2009).