Nobel Peace Prize goes to Ethiopia's prime minister
(KTVU and wire reports) -- The 2019 Nobel Peace has been awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Ahmed was cited for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.
Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chairwoman of the five-member Norwegian Nobel Institute that awards the Nobel Peace Prize said Ahmed was named for his moves to end his country's conflict with next door Eritrea within months of coming to office in 2018. He signed a "Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship," with Eritrean Prime Minister Isaias Afwerki.
Within the Nobel Peace Prize there is a long history of prizes going to statesmen associated with ending conflicts, most recently Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos who was awarded the prize in 2016 for helping to bring his country's 50 year civil war to an end.
Names of possible receipients, besides Ahmed, included 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and activists in Hong Kong.
There was also speculation that the Norwegian Nobel Institute could 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.
While the other prizes are announced in Stockholm, the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.