On May 25, the Berlin-Brandenburg regional association of the DGVN will award the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold to Melinda Gates for her outstanding commitment to the fight against extreme poverty and for better healthcare, especially in developing countries. But who exactly is Melinda Gates and what is her connection to the United Nations and its goals? Born Melinda Ann French on August 15, 1964 in Dallas, Texas, Melinda grew up with three siblings, a sister and two younger brothers. At home, her mother Elaine French looked after the children, while her father Raymond Joseph French worked as an aerospace engineer. She attended St. Monica Catholic School, where her talent for mathematics and passion for computers were noticed early on. As the top student in her class, she managed to get a place at the renowned Duke University. She enrolled in business and computer science and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1986. The following year, she started working as a product manager at Microsoft. Here she met its founder, Bill Gates, who would later become her husband in 1994. Over the years, she worked her way up to become General Manager for Information Products, but left when her first daughter was born in 1999.