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Kumi Naidoo named head of Greenpeace International

Greenpeace will soon have a new leader. Kumi Naidoo will take up the role of Executive Director of Greenpeace International in November 2009, when Gerd Leipold steps down after nearly nine years as head.

Kumi was part of the successful struggle against apartheid in his native South Africa. He is an activist and a Rhodes Scholar. For ten years he was the General Secretary of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. Today he sits on the board of Greenpeace Africa and chairs the Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA).

He was one of the founders of Global Call to Action Against Poverty, which has grown since 2005 into a coalition of anti-poverty campaigners from over 100 countries. They apply public pressure on leaders to fulfil promises on aid, trade, debt, climate change and gender equality.

Kumi brings with him a passion for activism, for non-violence and clear ideas for shaping the future of Greenpeace. His experiences in campaigning, fundraising, advocacy, policy work, networked organisations and leading through change will all be called upon.

"The way Greenpeace works on all levels from confrontation to cooperation with governments and corporations is an inspiration. The mix of pragmatism and passion really gets things done and effects real change in the world. I believe that Greenpeace is one of the most precious assets the global community posses as a critical part in reversing the current fatal trajectory of our planet," says Kumi.

Currently Chair of the Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA), of which Greenpeace is a member, for the coming months he will focus his attention on generating civil society pressure and cooperation to demand a strong deal at the UN Climate Summit to be held in Copenhagen this December: one which gets CO2 emissions under control, protects tropical rainforests, and replaces dirty fossil fuel energy with renewables and energy efficiency.

Gerd Leipold will remain at the helm until November, and has this to say about the successor he has already worked closely with:

"Kumi has all of the qualities needed to take Greenpeace forward and lead it in the greatest challenge it and the world has ever faced: climate change."

CV for Kumi Naidoo:
Born in South Africa in 1965, Kumi Naidoo became involved in the South African liberation struggle at the age of 15. As a result of his anti-apartheid activities, he was expelled from high school. He was deeply involved in neighbourhood organisation, youth work in his community, the underground movement, and mass mobilisations against the apartheid regime.

In 1986, he was arrested and charged for violating the state of emergency regulations. He went underground for one year before finally fleeing into exile in the UK until 1989. During this time, he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and earned a doctorate in political sociology. After Nelson Mandela's release in 1990, Kumi returned to South Africa to work on the legalisation of the African National Congress. During the democratic elections in 1994, he was the official spokesperson of the Independent Electoral Commission and directed the training of all electoral staff in the country.

Kumi became the founding Executive Director of the South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO), an umbrella agency for the South African NGO community. Provoked by the fact that South Africa has one of the highest rates of violence against women, Kumi was lead organiser of the National Men's March Against Violence on Women and Children in 1997.

From 1998 until 2008, Kumi Naidoo was the Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. With a small staff of 40, but a membership of more than 1000 organisations and individuals from more than 100 countries, CIVICUS is dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. He is currently the honorary president of CIVICUS.

Kumi is a Rhodes Scholar with a D.Phil. in Politics from Magdalen College, Oxford. He also holds a BA in Politics and Law from the University of Durban-Westville, South Africa. He has published and spoken widely on issues relating to civil society, education, and resistance to apartheid.