In the Norwegian capital Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 has been announced. It went to the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who contributed to the signing of the peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The agreement ended one of the longest conflicts in Africa, in which 80,000 people died. However, according to betting agencies, Greta Thunberg had been most likely to win this year's prize.
"This year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his efforts to achieve peace and focusing on international cooperation, in particular for his determined initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea,"
the Nobel Committee stated. The border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea broke out in 1998. After an acute phase of fighting that lasted two years, the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict transformed into a protracted border dispute. The countries resumed mutual relations in July 2018.
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Etiopský premiér si odnesl Nobelovu cenu za mír Source: @nobelprize2019
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Nobelova cena za mír Source: @nobelprize2019
Greta as favorite No.1
A total of 301 candidates, including 78 organizations and 223 individuals, were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. According to betting agencies, the 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl, activist Greta Thunberg, was a definite favorite. A year ago, this young girl had started to protest against climate change in front of the Swedish Parliament every Friday, instead of going to school.
Her regular protests have prompted a global movement and her opinions and attitudes inspired thousands of young people, who are fighting to protect the climate or reduce emissions.
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Aktivistka Greta Thunberg Source: @gretathunberg
Nobel Prize for batteries but also for understanding of the universe
But the Nobel Peace Prize is not the only Nobel Prize awarded. Other categories include the Nobel Prize for Literature, which was presented to Polish writers Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handken in 2018. The American physician James Peebles and two Swiss astrophysicists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz were awarded for their achievements in the field of physics. According to the institute, what made them deserve the prize was their contribution to our understanding of the evolution of the universe.
Americans William Kalein, Gregg Semenza and British Peter Ratcliffe were awarded for achievements in physiology and medicine.
John B. Goodenough, 97, became the oldest Nobel Prize winner in history this year. He received an award for chemistry, especially for the development of lithium-ion batteries, which are now used worldwide to power portable electronic devices. Next to Goodenough, scientist Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino also became laureates. On Monday, the world will learn the name of the winner of this year's award for economics.
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Olga Tokarczuk, držitelka Nobelovy ceny za literaturu. Source: @nobelprize
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Letošní nositelé Nobelovy ceny za chemii Source: @nobelprize
A prize with a long history
The Nobel Prize has been awarded annually since 1901. It was first awarded on the grounds of the will of the Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, who had been instrumental in the invention of dynamite. The Nobel Prize winners receive not only a medal that bears an engraving of Nobel's dates of birth and death in Latin, but also a diploma and a financial reward. It ammounts to approximately 20 million Czech crowns.
