The world's first green parties were founded in 1972. These were in the
Australian state of
Tasmania (the
United Tasmania Group) and in
New Zealand (the
Values Party). Others followed quickly: in 1973,
PEOPLE (later the Ecology Party) was set up in the UK, and in other European countries Green and radical parties sprang up in the following years.
Petra Kelly, a German
ecofeminist activist, is often cited as one of the first thinkers and leaders of the
green politics movement. Her work in founding the
German Green Party in
West Germany in 1980 was instrumental in bringing prominence to green political parties on both the national and international stages. The first Planetary Meeting of the Greens was held in
Rio de Janeiro on May 30–31, 1992 in conjunction with the
Rio Earth Summit being concurrently held in
Brazil. It was here that the first ever Global Greens statement was issued, beginning with this preface: , a German ecofeminist and green politics thinker who founded the
German Green Party in 1980 The first Global Greens Congress was held in
Canberra, Australia, in 2001. The official Global Greens Charter was issued here, and the Congress delegates set up the framework and organizational structures that would build the Global Greens into an ongoing international network and movement, including the Global Greens Coordination. In 2010, the first Global Greens Secretary was appointed. ==Global Greens Charter==