Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has been named as laureate of the 2019 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize for his actions and, in particular, for having been the instigator of a peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The jury also recognized Ali’s worthiness for the reforms undertaken to consolidate democracy and social cohesion.

Finally, the jury considered this distinction as an encouragement to pursue his commitment to the promotion of a culture of peace in the region and across Africa.

The jury met on 29 April at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France to designate the laureate of the 2019 edition of the prize, which will mark the 30th anniversary of its inception.

The jury was composed of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and Nobel Peace Laureate (2011); François Hollande, former President of France and Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan of Jordan, UNESCO special envoy for science for peace.

Others were Michel Camdessus (France), former director general of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Professor Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh), founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Laureate (2006) and Forest Whitaker (United States of America), founder of the Peace and Development Initiative.

In 1989, in order to pay tribute to President Félix Houphouet-Boigny’s action for peace in the world, 120 countries sponsored a resolution unanimously adopted by UNESCO’s Member States to establish the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Prize – UNESCO Peace Prize. 

The prize is intended to honor living individuals and active public or private institutions or bodies that have made a significant contribution to promoting, seeking, safeguarding or maintaining peace in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of UNESCO.