David Fraser McTaggart (June 24, 1932 – March 23, 2001) was a Canadian-born
environmentalist who played a central part in the foundation of
Greenpeace International.
An excellent all-around athlete, as a young man he won three consecutive
Canadian National Badminton Championships in men's singles (1956–1958) and represented that country in badminton's
Thomas Cup (men's world team championship) competition. Prior to his involvement in Greenpeace he had prospered as a builder and developer.
In 1972, responding to an ad in the newspapers, he used his personal boat to
protest the testing of
nuclear weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
in the
Pacific by the
French government. After getting his boat damaged and being physically hurt by the French Military, his protest succeeded in 1974 when the French announced the end of their atmospheric
nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
program. McTaggart spent the next several years pursuing legal action against the French government and assisting in the formation of Greenpeace affiliates across Western Europe. In 1979 he brokered an agreement that led to the formation of Greenpeace International, ending the leadership of the original founding group based in Vancouver, Canada.
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]
He became
chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
and chief spokesman for Greenpeace in 1979, retiring in 1991 to live on an olive farm in
Paciano,
Umbria, Italy.
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]
McTaggart continued to participate in Greenpeace forums after retirement for the rest of his life. He and singer
Bryan Adams did a massive postcard campaign to help create the Southern Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. For nearly two years they toured the world asking thousands of concert goers to write to countries involved with whaling to support the sanctuary.
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]
The
Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was established by the IWC in 1994 with 23 countries supporting the agreement and Japan opposing it.
Te Vaka dedicated its song "Sei Ma Le Losa" to McTaggart, who was killed in a car accident on March 23, 2001, near his home in Italy.
In 1987 McTaggart founded th
Third Millennium Foundation a US 501(c)(3) dedicated to continuing his work for disarmament, peace, and a sustainable future. The foundation, headquartered in his former home in Paciano, Italy, continues today promoting local and global projects in his memory.
In 1996 he received the journalistic prize ''Golden Doves for Peace'' issued by the Italian Research Institute Archivio Disarmo
[http://www.archiviodisarmo.it/images/pdf/list.pdf]
See also
*
Anti-nuclear movement
*
List of peace activists
References
External links
David Fraser McTaggart: 1932–2001David McTaggart, Biography of a LeaderThird Millennium Foundation, David McTaggart's foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mctaggart, David
1932 births
2001 deaths
People associated with Greenpeace
Canadian environmentalists
Canadian activists
Canadian anti–nuclear weapons activists
Road incident deaths in Italy
Canadian male badminton players