The WFC Board of Directors
Jakob von Uexküll, WFC Founder
Born in Uppsala, Sweden, Jakob von Uexküll is the son of the author and journalist Gösta von Uexküll and grandson of the biologist Jakob von Uexküll. 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. Jakob von Uexküll is married and has three children. He lives with his family in London.
Jakob von Uexküll is the founder of the Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize'. 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 as well as of the UNESCO Commission on Human Duties and Responsibilities. Jakob von Uexküll 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).
Jakob von Uexküll has been honored 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, for his future-orientated commitment dedicated for a life in human dignity for our children and grand-children in a globalised world.
