Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel committee on Friday named Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali as the winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to “achieve peace and international cooperation” in the African nation. He has won the 100th Nobel Peace Prize for his “decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea”.

“We identify this as the most significant contribution to peace in the last year,” Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said, whiled the Ethiopian PM said he was ‘humbled and thrilled’ to hear the news.

Following his election last year, Ali initiated a radical reform programme, firing controversial civil servants, lifting bans on various media and freeing political prisoners. In April, he signed a peace deal with Eritrea that ended a 20-year-old military stalemate that began with their 1998-2000 border war. The 42-year-old, known for his charisma and informal style, is the first Ethiopian to win a Nobel Prize.

“His reforms give many citizens hope for a better life and a brighter future,” the Nobel committee said in a statement. The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg was widely tipped as the favourite for winning this year’s Nobel for peace. Read the full statement here.

The prize, worth 9 million Swedish crowns ($900,000), will be awarded in Oslo in December.

Other notable winners of the Nobel Peace Prize include US President Barack Obama (2009), US President Jimmy Carter (2002), child education activist Malala Yousafzai (shared 2014), the United Nations and its then-general-secretary, Kofi Annan, (shared 2001) and Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1979).