The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, has been named the winner of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Academy announced Santos was to be handed the prize following his negotiation of a landmark peace deal with Colombia’s FARC rebels, a peace deal that would have brought an end to a half century old civil war.
“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 52 year conflict has killed over 250,000 people, with millions displaced. Santos and the rebels signed the agreement last month after four years of negotiations.
The deal, however, was not ratified by the Colombian people, defeated in a referendum. President Santos, however, has vowed to continue working towards a peace deal with the rebels that would be acceptable to the Colombian people.