Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Wins Nobel Peace Prize Over Greta Thunberg

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office amid protests and, after a coalition, hurt one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. In the tumultuous area of the Horn of Africa, Abiy successfully negotiated a peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea- one of Ethiopia’s longest-running conflicts. His actions caused him to win the Nobel Peace Prize, beating climate activist Greta Thunberg who was the public proffered choice for the Nobel Prize.

Nobel Prize

After Thunberg delivered an angry tirade at the annual United Nations meeting in September, demanding that governments do more to address climate change around the world, she became the publics’ favorite to take home the Nobel Prize for Peace. After making veiled threats of the global revolution at the U.N. meeting, Thunberg was nominated for the prize, with many of her followers hoping that she would receive it.

However, the committee looked past the 16-year-old and instead chose Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his negotiations with a bordering country of Ethiopia- bringing his country peace for the first time in many years.

Aiby Ahmed

In 2018 Abiy received a country that was full of conflict- specifically at its northern border, next to Eritrea- which was holding back any possibility of Ethiopia’s economic development. Within months after taking office, Abiy had managed to sign a peace deal with Eritrea. Abiy promised to hand over fiercely contested border territories, in particular the town of Badme, which has seen signigicant fighting in the past 20 years, where over 10,000 people have lost their lives. ^[1]

Although many believe that Thunberg deserved the Peace Prize more than Abiy, one can only imagine what she has done to make the world a more peaceful place.