Nobel Peace Prize 2019 goes to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister

FAN Editor
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks at a news conference at his office in Addis Ababa
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks at a news conference at his office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, August 1, 2019. REUTERS

Oslo — The Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 was awarded to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia for his work toward peace. The Nobel committee lauded Ahmed for pushing peace talks with neighboring Eritrea, and commended other leaders in the region along with him.

The committee lauded Ahmed for giving his nation hope after years of conflict, tackling corruption and working to give women greater rights in his nation. The committee acknowledged that there was still much work to be done to see genuine democracy thrive in Ethiopia, but said Ahmed had taken great strides in the right direction and they hoped the Peace Prize would help push further progress for democratic reform.

“Prime Minister Abiy’s achievements have not been completed,” the committee said. “We recognize that it might be debatable whether it is too early or not… but the committee believes now is the time to recognize, and to encourage.”

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The Nobel committee, which awards the prize, didn’t drop any hints before the announcement, but other names flying around included 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; and activists in Hong Kong.

The Norwegian Nobel Institute could also have chosen to acknowledge 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.

Outsiders included Davi Kopenawa, a spokesman for the rights of a Brazilian indigenous tribe, and U.S. President Donald Trump.

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 was awarded, as ever, in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

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

Two literature prizes were awarded Thursday: One for 2018 that went to Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk and one for 2019 that was given to Austrian author Peter Handke.

Nobel Prize in medicine honors pioneering research that helps fight disease

The chemistry prize went to three scientists for their work leading to the development of lithium-ion batteries; the physics award was given to a Canadian-American and two Swiss for exploring the evolution of the universe and discovering a new kind of planet; and the physiology or medicine award went to two Americans and one British scientist for discovering details of how the body’s cells sense and react to low oxygen levels.

In his will, Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite, decided the peace prize should be awarded in Oslo. His exact reasons for having an institution in Norway handing out that prize is unclear, but during his lifetime Sweden and Norway were joined in a union, which was dissolved in 1905.

The economics prize wasn’t created by Nobel, but by Sweden’s central bank in 1968. It is awarded Monday.

With the glory comes a 9-million kronor ($918,000) cash award, a gold medal and a diploma. Even though the peace prize is awarded in Norway, the amount is denominated in Swedish kronor.

The laureates receive them at elegant ceremonies on Dec. 10 – the anniversary of Nobel’s death in 1896 – in Stockholm and Oslo.

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