Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia president has won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
The award was given to Mr.Santos despite Colombians narrowly voting ‘No’ to an agreement he signed with Marxist rebels to end 52 years of conflict.
The president had agreed the landmark deal with the Farc rebel leader Rodrigo Londoño, who is also known as Timochenko, in August. It included an agreement for both sides to permanently cease hostilities and for rebels to down their weapons.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end,” said committee chairwoman Kaci Kullmann Five.
“The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process,” she added.
The committee’s secretary, Olav Njoelstad, said the Colombian leader was “overwhelmed” after learning he had won the award.
“He was very grateful. He said it was of invaluable importance to further the peace process in Colombia.”
The worth 8 million Swedish crowns (£751,000) award will be presented in Oslo on December 10.
The Nobel committee said Mr Santos had been selected as the recipient “to encourage all those who are striving to achieve peace, reconciliation and justice in Colombia”.
“The fact that the majority of the voters said no to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead,” committee chair Kaci Kullmann Five, said.
“The referendum was not a vote for or against peace…What the ‘No’ side rejected was not the desire for peace but a specific peace agreement.”
Mr Santos was selected from a list of 376 candidates – 228 were individuals and 148 were organisations. They included: