WHAT’S THE STORY?

THE Prime Minister of Ethiopia has been named the winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

In the war-torn Horn of Africa, Abiy Ahmed Ali has stood out as a peacemaker and reformer.

A total of 301 candidates had been nominated for the award – 223 individuals and 78 organisations. Many people thought teenager Greta Thunberg would win for her astonishing work on green issues, but it is possible the committee is waiting to see how her crusade develops.

Often known simply as Abiy, the newest Nobel laureate – incidentally the winner of the 100th Nobel Peace Prize – will receive the award in December in Oslo as the prize is decided by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. It is worth about nine million Swedish krona, about £730,000.

WHO IS HE?

ABIY Ahmed Ali was born on August 15, 1976 in the town of Beshasha in the Oromia region. Raised by a Muslim father and a Christian mother – who are both now dead – he inherited from the values of tolerance and understanding across divides that he now preaches.

As a teenager, Abiy was well-educated and went on to complete several degrees. He joined the armed struggle against the Derg Marxist regime of Mengistu Hailie Mariam and then became a soldier in the Ethiopian military. While serving at the Ethiopian National Defence Force, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Entering politics, he rose quickly to become vice-president of the Oromia regional government, minister in the ministry of science and technology, founding director of the Information Network Security Agency and founder and head of the government research institute at the Science and Technology Information Centre.

After the unexpected resignation of his predecessor Hailemariam Desalegn, and recognising his growing public popularity, the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Front unanimously elected him its leader and prime minister.

He and his wife Zinash Tayachew have three daughters and a recently adopted son.

WHY DID HE WIN THE PRIZE?

IN the words of the Nobel Committee, they “decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 to Ethiopian prime minister Abiy for his efforts to achieve peace and international co-operation, in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

“The prize is also meant to recognise all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and north-east African regions.”

But the Prize recognises much more than his international peace efforts. Since taking office in April 2018, Abiy has introduced widespread reforms. The Ethiopian government said: “Under his leadership, thousands of prisoners were released; open discussions and consultations held with opposition political parties – some of whom were previously dubbed as ‘terrorists’; a transformational agenda for legal and justice sector reform has been set in motion; and some of the largest public enterprises are to be partially privatised as part of a broader market liberalization and economic reform agenda.”

WHAT IS ABIY SAYING?

“THANK you very much. It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia and I can imagine how the rest of Africa’s leaders will take it positively.”