MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, born in 1931, was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR from 1985 to 1991. As head of state he introduced the radical turnaround of his country's foreign and internal policies which led to a complete transformation of the Eastern Bloc, enabling the reunification of Germany to take place in 1990. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, and in 1991 he resigned from his political offices. In 1992 he founded Green Cross International, an organization that works for peace, justice, and the environment in over 30 countries.
"""Mikhail Gorbachev is a uniquely valuable global figure, whose wisdom stems from a remarkable personal journey. This is his wake-up call, and we'd be mad to ignore it.""--Zac Goldsmith, editor, The Ecologist"