Gerd Leipold

Dr. Gerd Leipold "was appointed Executive Director of Greenpeace International in February 2001.

"He was born on 1 January 1951 in Rot, a small village in the Southwestern German state Baden-Württemberg. He studied physics at the University of Munich from 1970 to 1976. He continued his studies in Hamburg, where he read meteorology and physical oceanography. From 1976 to 1982 he was an employee of the Max-Planck-Institute of Meteorology in Hamburg, where he developed ocean circulation models as part of the Institute's climate research program.

"Between 1981 and 1990 Gerd played a key role in Greenpeace Germany. During his tenure as Director and Trustee of that office, it developed from a small group of volunteers to the biggest environmental organisation in Germany - with over 80 staff, over 400,000 supporters and a yearly income of 25 million Euros. In 1987, Gerd also undertook the co-ordination of the Greenpeace International disarmament campaign. Leading a team of 30 campaigners from 15 different Greenpeace offices, the campaign opposed sea-based nuclear weapons, nuclear submarines and the testing of nuclear weapons by all nuclear powers.

"Between 1993 and 2001 Gerd Leipold was Director of GEM Partners Ltd, a London-based consultancy company for strategy and communication. Gerd advised a wide range of non-governmental organisations, among them the International Committee of the Red Cross, Oxfam, Action Aid and Consumers International, on campaign and organisational development and communication.

"In his spare time Gerd plays piano. His interests include literature, soccer and history.

"Gerd lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands."