von Uexkull, Jakob

Jakob von Uexkull founded the World Future Council in 2007 and the Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize', in 1980. He also co-founded The Other Economic Summit in 1984. As a past Member of the European Parliament (1987-89), he served on the Political Affairs Committee and later on the UNESCO Commission on Human Duties and Responsibilities (1998-2000). Von Uexkull has also served on the board of Greenpeace, Germany, and on the council of governance of Transparency International. He is a patron of Friends of the Earth International and lectures widely on environment, justice and peace issues.

Von Uexkull has received many awards and distinctions, including 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), the Binding-Prize (Liechtenstein) for the protection of nature and the environment (2006) and the Order of Merit First Class of the Federal Republic of Germany (2009). In 2005, he was honored by TIME magazine as a European Hero and in 2008 he received the Erich-Fromm-Prize in Stuttgart, Germany. He is also a recognized philatelic expert with publications including The Early Postal History of Saudi Arabia (London, 2001).

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. (with honors) in politics, philosophy and economics from Christ Church college, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. He holds Swedish and German citizenship and lives with his family in London.