The 2019
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
was awarded to the
prime minister of Ethiopia
The Prime Minister of Ethiopia is the head of government and Chief Executive of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a parliamentary republic with a Prime Minister as head of the government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ethiopian Armed Forces. The Pri ...
Abiy Ahmed
Abiy Ahmed Ali ( om, Abiyi Ahmed Alii; am, አብይ አሕመድ ዐሊ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who has been the 4th prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia since 2 April 2018. He won the 2019 ...
(b. 1976) "for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the
border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea." The award was announced by the
Norwegian Nobel Committee
The Norwegian Nobel Committee ( no, Den norske Nobelkomité) selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will.
Five members are appointed by ...
on 11 October 2019.
One year after Abiy received the prize, he presided over the outbreak of the
Tigray War
The Tigray War; ; . was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between the Government of Ethiopia, Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one s ...
, which saw
hundreds of thousands of casualties and led to the displacement of more than 800,000 persons. In response to the outbreak of hostilities, the Norwegian Nobel Committee released a statement in January 2022 which called the humanitarian situation "extremely serious"; said the lack of delivery of humanitarian aid to Tigray was "unacceptable"; and observed that "As Prime Minister and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Abiy Ahmed has a special responsibility to end the conflict and help to create peace."
Candidates
Nobel Committee
Tasked with reviewing nominations from September of the previous year through February 1 and ultimately selecting the Prize winners, the members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee for 2019 were:
*
Berit Reiss-Andersen (chair, born 1954),
advocate (barrister) and president of the
Norwegian Bar Association, former
state secretary for the
Minister of Justice and the Police (representing the
Labour Party). Member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 2012, reappointed for the period 2018–2023.
*
Henrik Syse (vice-chair, born 1966), research professor at the
Peace Research Institute Oslo
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO; no, Institutt for fredsforskning) is a private research institution in peace and conflict studies, based in Oslo, Norway, with around 100 employees. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researcher ...
. Member of the Committee since 2015, appointed for the period 2015–2020.
*
Thorbjørn Jagland (born 1950), former Member of Parliament and
President of the Storting and former Prime Minister for the
Labour Party, current Secretary-General of the
Council of Europe. Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2009 to 2015. Currently regular member. Member of the Committee since 2009, reappointed for the period 2015–2020.
*
Anne Enger (born 1949), former Leader of the
Centre Party and
Minister of Culture
A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...
. Appointed for the period 2018–2020.
*
Asle Toje (born 1974), foreign policy scholar. Appointed for the period 2018–2023.
References
{{2019 Nobel Prize winners
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
2019 awards