In Honor of and thank you to Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev

March 2, 1931 - August 30, 2022

Our beloved Founding President Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev has left us. This is of great sadness for our Green Cross Family worldwide, as well as for the international community. President Gorbachev will be greatly missed by all. 

Never before has our world seen such a visionary leader. "The man who changed the world" was very early to set the seeds of change that can bring forth a sustainable planetary future. 

All the great work that President Gorbachev brought forth, starting some 30 years ago, shows he was far ahead of his time. He was a trailblazer calling to raise awareness, ethical change, dialog and cooperation to address the very critical issues we now face as a human race. 

President Gorbachev has passed, however his beacon of Light now shines even brighter. He lived his life in unwavering commitment to a better world, to cultivate peace, disarmament and environmental security, in solidarity and unity with the Earth. 

Mikhail Sergeyevich brought humanity new hope. He brought “glasnost” and "perestroika", an openness, a new thinking, and restructuring of society. He brought down the Berlin Wall, and ending the cold war, while opening a path for a free Europe, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1990. 

Never before has a world leader in power proposed a full ban of all nuclear weapons, as President Gorbachev did at the Global Forum on Environment and Development for the Survival of Humanity, that same year. There he also proposed the creation of a "Green Cross for the Earth" to promote international cooperation for environmental protection. 

Founded in 1993, Green Cross International is the birth child of President Gorbachev, which became established 30 countries. He was one of the first world leaders to sound the alarm on climate change, and created the international Climate Task Force, with renowned leaders and scientists. 

In a letter to the GCI General Assembly dated August 22, 2019 President Gorbachev reflected over the legacy and achievements of Green Cross International. 

He wrote: "Green Cross as a part of a global movement, and has awakened millions of people to become concerned about the fate of our planet. 

"Our work focused including Earth ethics and environmental education, elimination of the environmental consequences of the arms race, and access to clean water." 

President Gorbachev went on to say, "Each of those areas we have great achievements. I am referring to the Earth Charter we helped to establish, which is a guidelines of governance for all sectors of society, and the school curricula that reached out to millions of children." 

He reflected on the "implementation of the Convention banning chemical weapons, the conclusion of the UN Transboundary Water Convention, and to many projects big and small to which our active supporters gave their efforts and their hearts." 

"Green Cross must continue its important role within the international community to cultivate cooperation and to bring forth solutions for a sustainable future during this time of ecological and human crisis." 

President Gorbachev's long-term understanding of the steps needed towards mankind's planetary future will now live on beyond his time on Earth. 

Let us take his advice to heart: "Let us awaken humanity to the environmental planetary crisis. Let us change from within, our consciousness. Let us work together with all levels of society, and over international borders." 

We thank you Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev for all you have done for our world. 

Green Cross International 

Mikhail Gorbachev

the founder of

Green Cross

Green Cross International’s roots can be traced back to President Mikhail Gorbachev’s time in office as Head of State of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a period during which he spoke repeatedly about the interrelated threats humanity and our Earth face from nuclear arms, chemical weapons, unsustainable development, and the man-induced decimation of the planet’s ecology.

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Green Cross International is an environmentalist organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, founded by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993. Today there are member organisations in 30 countries. Its primary mission is to "respond to the combined challenges of security, poverty and environmental degradation to ensure a sustainable and secure future".

Green Cross International was founded by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993, building upon the work started by the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.