Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, who helped his country end the 20-year war with Eritrea.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee while announcing the prize in Oslo, said Abiy’s “efforts deserve recognition and need encouragement.”

The conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea over disputed border territory came at a huge financial and humanitarian cost for both countries.

Abiy, 43, also recently won plaudits for his role in helping to broker a power-sharing deal in neighboring Sudan after a political crisis that led to the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, the country’s ruler for almost three decades.

The chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen,  stated that Abiy who has had both share of praise and criticism for his reforms in Ethiopia  has not been recognized too soon, but acknowledged that so many progress still needs to be made in the country.

“As Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed has sought to promote reconciliation, solidarity and social justice. However, many challenges remain unresolved. Ethnic strife continues to escalate, and we have seen troubling examples of this in recent weeks and months.” she added

Reiss-Andersen continued: “There is definitely a lot achieved already in reforming Ethiopia to a democracy but there’s also a long way to go. Rome was not made in a day and neither will peace or democratic development be achieved in a short period of time.”

The committee had not been able to contact Abiy before making his award public, but after the announcement, the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s office  tweeted that it was “pleased to express our pride” in the selection.

Elected in April last year, the early months of Abiy’s premiership were marked with bold and progressive decision making. He released the country’s political prisoners, denouncing their torture, and freed jailed journalists. Abiy met the political opposition and civil society to discuss reform, and invited previously exiled political parties to return to Ethiopia. He also embarked on major institutional reforms, including in the security and justice sectors.

“In Ethiopia, even if much work remains, Abiy Ahmed has initiated important reforms that give many citizens hope for a better life and a brighter future,” said Reiss-Andersen.