Petra Kelly
| Petra Kelly | |
|---|---|
Kelly in 1987
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| Born |
Petra Karin Lehmann 29 November 1947 Günzburg, Bavaria, Allied Occupation Zones in Germany |
| Died | 1 October 1992 (aged 44) Bonn, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Activist, politician |
Petra Karin Kelly (29 November 1947 – c. 1 October 1992) was a German Green politician and activist. She was instrumental in founding the German Green Party, the first Green party to rise to prominence both nationally in Germany and worldwide.
Kelly was born in Günzburg, Bavaria (then the American Zone of Occupation, Germany), in 1947, as Petra Karin Lehmann. She changed her name to Kelly after her mother married John E. Kelly, a US Army officer. She was educated in a Roman Catholic convent in Günzburg and later attended school in Georgia and Virginia after her family relocated to the United States in 1959. She lived and studied in the United States until her return to West Germany in 1970. She retained her (West) German citizenship throughout her life.
An admirer of Martin Luther King, Jr., she campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 U.S. elections. She studied political science at the School of International Service at American University (Washington, DC), from which she graduated in 1970. She graduated from the European Institute at the University of Amsterdam in 1971.
While working at the European Commission (Brussels, Belgium, 1971–83), she participated in numerous peace and environmental campaigns in Germany and other countries.
After working for two years at the European Commission, she moved to an administrative post at the Economic and Social Committee, where she championed women's rights.
Petra Kelly was one of the founders of Die Grünen, the German Green Party in 1979. In 1983 she was elected to the Bundestag via the landesliste as a Member of Parliament representing Bavaria. She was subsequently re-elected in 1987 with a higher vote share.
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