Jakob von Uexkull
For the Estonian biologist, see Jakob von Uexküll.Jakob von Uexkull (born 19 August
1944) is a
writer,
lecturer, professional
philatelist and past member of the
European Parliament who, in
1980, founded the
Right Livelihood Awards (aka the Alternative Nobel Prize). He holds both
Swedish and
German citizenship.
Jakob von Uexkull was born in
Uppsala,
Sweden. After studying in Sweden and Germany, he won a scholarship to
Christ Church College,
Oxford University, graduating with a Master of Arts in
Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
He provided an initial
endowment for the awards by selling his collection of
postage stamps for US$ 1 million; the awards have subsequently attracted additional funding from private individuals enabling it to donate annual prizes worth 2 million
Swedish Krona.
He created the awards out of a recognition that
Nobel prizes were relatively narrow in scope and usually recognised the work of those in
industrialised countries.
Von Uexkull first approached the Nobel Foundation with the suggestion that it establish two new awards, one for
ecology and one relevant to the lives of the poor majority of the world's population. He offered to contribute financially but his proposal was turned down.
He then decided to set up the Right Livelihood Awards, presented in the
Swedish parliament on the day before the nobel prizes and often referred to as the alternative nobel prize. In recognition of his initiative in founding the Right Livelihood Award, the
German Green Party has several times nominated Jakob von Uexkull in
elections to the European Parliament. As an
MEP, he served on the Political Affairs Committee and the Science and Technology Committee. He was also a member of the Delegation for Relations with the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR and the Baltic Intergroup (1987-89).
He is a co-founder of
The Other Economic Summit and a past Member of the European Parliament where he served on the Political Affairs Committee. He is a patron of
Friends of the Earth International. He has been a Trustee of the
New Economics Foundation, London, and a member of the
Global Commission to Fund the United Nations. He has 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' (2001).
He created the
Estonian Renaissance award after the independence of the country in 1991.
He his currently working towards the creation of a
World Future Council [
1] of planetary elders, pioneers and youth leaders, acting as a global conscience, speaking up for our ethical values as global citizens and in the interests of future generations.
His grandfather
Jakob von Uexküll is the founder of the study of
biosemiotics.
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Right Livelihood Award - Official site
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Jakob von Uexkull - Founder
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Time Europe - Got his eyes on the prize*
World Future Council
