Esther Peter-Davis
 | This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage. (January 2021) |
Esther Peter-Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Esther Peter 11 September 1932 |
| Died | 8 October 2022 (aged 90) Strasbourg, France |
| Occupation | Human rights activist |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Esther Peter-Davis (11 September 1932 – 8 October 2022) was a French Alsatian pacifist who played a decisive role in the development of the anti-nuclear movement in France and the development of cross-border organizations for the defense of human rights and a healthy environment.[1]
Biography
[edit]Esther Peter was born in Strasbourg, France, on 11 September 1932. In 1963, she married Garry Davis, who founded the Citoyens du Monde (transl. "Citizens of the World") movement in 1948.[2][3] They had met a year after he founded the organization, and she had been his secretary.[4]
In 1960, Peter-Davis opposed military nuclear tests in the Sahara.[5]
In 1970, she, Garry, and their three children lived 38 kilometres (24 mi), as the crow flies, from the construction site of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant. Initially, without prejudice against the young technology, she questioned the potential long-term effects of this new technology on densely populated areas. What scientists at that time were saying publicly on behalf of Électricité de France contrasted with the lack of solid information on potential disasters or effects on the health of the local population. According to Peter-Davis, the official pronouncements painted only a partial portrait, since they evaded the question of radioactive waste or left the issue for future generations, and the potential risks of this technology, which left no room for error, were unknown. Her questions, which went unanswered, led her and many people in Alsace to conclude that the prolonged threat of catastrophic risks to human health and to the ecosystems on which life depends was a heavy price to pay for electricity production. This led her to become one of the pioneers of the anti-nuclear movement in France. Together with Annick Albrecht and Françoise Bucher, she published the magazine that was instrumental in helping residents understand issues that official civil nuclear specialists did not talk about or spoke only positively about.[5][6]
Peter-Davis co-founded Friends of the Earth and the Verts [the Greens].
In 1985, she adapted eco-consulting from its German context to a French one and founded, in 1987, ECO-Conseil, the European Institute for Environmental Consulting, based in Strasbourg.[7]
She was the Founder-President of the “European Network of Scientific and Technical Cooperation for Environmental Consulting” as well as of the “Laboratory Region for Sustainable Development”.
She was the founding president of the European Network for Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Environmental Consulting and the Sustainable Development Laboratory Region.
She and Garry Davis had two sons and a daughter.[8] They divorced in 1975.[9] She died on 8 October 2022, at the age of 90.[10][11]
Awards and distinctions
[edit]- 1989: Winner of the Alsace Foundation "Rhin-novation" Prize[12]
- 1991: Dame of the National Order of Merit
- 1991: French prize for good environmental management (won by the Banque Populaire du Haut-Rhin, for its program of special loans to SMEs and SMIs for investments in favor of the environment)
- 1993: Honored with the Global 500 Roll of Honor by UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) for its contributions to the environment
- 1994: The Crédit Coopératif Corporate Foundation Initiative Award
- 1998: The Fibre d’Or of the École du Bois
References
[edit]- ^ "33 éco-personnalités" [33 Eco-personalities]. Objectif Alsace (in French): 32. May 1993.
Autodidacte de nationalité alsacienne et de citoyenneté mondiale, polyglotte. Longtemps fonctionnaire internationale. S'est toujours intéressée à la prévention et à une solution pacifique des conflits avant de transposer cette préoccupation dans le domaine écologique.
[Self-taught, Alsatian by nationality and global citizen, polyglot. Long-time international civil servant. Was always interested in prevention and peaceful conflict resolution before transferring this concern to the ecological field.] - ^ Mariage de Garry Davis | INA (in French). Retrieved 13 August 2025 – via www.ina.fr.
- ^ "Garry Davis". The Telegraph. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ Alamy. "Jun. 06, 1963 - Garry Davis (Ex First Citizen of the world) is Married : Ex first Citizen of the world, Garry Davis, who stopped making headlines since a few years got married in Strasbourg where he works for an American firm. He Married Esther Peter who used to be hits secretary after they met in 1949 when in protest of the European boarders Garry Davis camped in Paris. photo shows Garry Davis and his wife Esther Peter After Their wedding in Strasbourg Stock Photo - Alamy". www.alamy.com. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ a b Mayault, Isabelle. "Celle qui a toujours dit non au nucléaire". Sept.info (in French). Archived from the original on 16 June 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ Peter-Davis, Esther; Albrecht, Annick; Bucher, Françoise. «Fessenheim», vie ou mort de l’Alsace? [Fessenheim, the Life or Death of Alsace?] (in French). Saâles, Schmitt-Lucos.
- ^ Olivier (9 November 2022). "Hommage et gratitude à Esther Peter-Davis | ECO-Conseil". ecoconseil.org. Archived from the original on 10 May 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ "Garry Davis: World without borders was the dream of US war veteran". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ Green, Susan. "Passport to Fame?". Seven Days. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ "Nécrologie. Esther Peter-Davis, militante pacifiste alsacienne, est morte". www.dna.fr (in French). 10 October 2022. Archived from the original on 11 February 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ "Esther Peter - Davis, Alsatian peace activist, died". DNA - les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (in French). 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ Peter-Davis, « Esther PETER DAVIS - Fond'action Alsace » [archive], sur www.fondaction-alsace.com