Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 has been awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali for "his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea."
Born in Beshasha, Ethiopia on 15 August 1976, Ali - the youngest head of government in Africa - is the first Ethiopian to be awarded a Nobel Prize.

The announcement was made at a press conference at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo.


Announcing the prize, the Nobel committee said, "In close cooperation with Isaias Afwerki, the President of Eritrea, this year’s Peace Laureate Abiy Ahmed quickly worked out the principles of a peace agreement to end the long “no peace, no war” stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea."


"In Ethiopia, even if much work remains, Peace Laureate Abiy Ahmed has initiated important reforms that give many citizens hope for a better life and a brighter future. As Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed has sought to promote reconciliation, solidarity and social justice."


Ali has been awarded for restoring Ethiopia's relations with Eritrea (in July 2018), after years of hostility. The two longtime foes fought a border war from 1998 to 2000.

In a statement, the Nobel committee said about the 43-year-old, "He spent his first 100 days as Prime Minister lifting the country’s state of emergency, granting amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, discontinuing media censorship, legalising outlawed opposition groups, dismissing military and civilian leaders who were suspected of corruption, and significantly increasing the influence of women in Ethiopian political and community life."

The $900,000 (9 million Swedish crowns) prize will be presented in Oslo on December 10, on the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel.

The Nobel committee, which has been awarding the recognition for 50 years, doesn't reveal the names of nominations . Earlier, the names flying around for the coveted prize included teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and activists in Hong Kong. There were also talks of the Norwegian Nobel Institute acknowledging United Nations' World Food Program, or the joint leadership of two prime ministers, Greece's Alexis Tsipras and North Macedonia's Zoran Zaev, who brought an end to 30 years of acrimony between their nations.

Since 1901, 99 Nobel Peace Prizes have been handed out, to individuals and 24 organizations. While the other prizes are announced in Stockholm, the peace prize is awarded in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

So far this week, 11 Nobel laureates have been named, of whom 10 are men.

(With inputs from AP)