Petra Kelly

The Green Party and Petra Kelly

Born in Germany in 1947, Petra Kelly moved to the United States in her childhood and attended American University in Washington D.C. and received a degree in political science.

An admirer of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Fall 1968 - Works on Herbert Humphrey's and Robert Kennedy's presidential campaigns.

During her time at the American University she had a regular correspondence with Vice-President

Hubert Humphrey. She then began her foray in to politics when organized “International Week”

At American University and worked on the 1968 presidential campaigns of both Robert Kennedy

and Vice-President Humphrey.

In 1970 Kelly left the American University and returned to

Germany. It was in this arena in which Kelly would excel and leave an indubitable mark.

When Kelly returned to Germany in 1970 she became a Social democrat and went to

work at the General Secretariat of the European Commission (EC).

Kelly became a board member of the Grassroots organization Bundesverband Burgeriniativen

Umweltschutz (BBU) which lobbied the German Parliament. The BBU’s stance was “Protection

of the environment today means more then eliminating or moderating some of the worst effects of

the industrial system…our goal is a more just, a freer and a more human social order.”

It was the ideals of the BBU which spawned the creation of the German Green Party.

Kelly became disillusioned with the German Social Democrats and in 1978 she created

the “anti-party” party in the German Green Party.

One of her co-founders was her lover GertBastain. Four years later the German Green party was able to receive over one million votes in the first national elections in which they participated in 1982. It was this platform from which allowed her to make an impact in all things which she became involved.

In her first speech to the Bundestag, the German Parliament, she discussed the

Environment, nuclear power and women’s role in society.

She was able to...