OSLO – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been selected as this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee rewarded Santos “for his resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end.”
READ MORE: Colombia peace talks complicated by lack of cease-fire, drug-trafficking rebels
The committee said 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.
It did not cite his counterpart in peace negotiations, Rodrigo Londono, the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
READ MORE: Analysis: Colombians hopeful over ‘exploratory talks,’ but there is no easy path to peace
Santos and Londono signed a peace deal last month to end the hostilities only to see their efforts collapse following a shock vote against the agreement in a referendum six days later.
Santos is 15th head of state or government to win the Peace Prize while in office.
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