Colombian president wins Nobel Peace Prize

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize today for his efforts to end a five-decade civil war with rebels in his country. Though Santos originally seemed a shoo-in for the award, many observers thought him out of the running after a national referendum on the peace deal failed Sunday.

In announcing the prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said the referendum’s defeat did not negate the meaningful work Santos did to get to this point.

“The referendum was not a vote for or against peace,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, insisting the peace process wasn’t dead. “What the ‘No’ side rejected was not the desire for peace, but a specific peace agreement.” Many who voted against the peace deal said it was too lenient on the violent rebel group.

In accepting the award, Santos said he still has high hopes for a final peace agreement.

“We are very, very close. We just need to push a bit further to persevere,” Santos said in an interview posted on the Nobel Foundation’s Facebook page.

A cease-fire remains in place between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Nobel committee notably did not recognize FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño, also known as Timochenko.

Reacting to the award on Twitter, Londoño said “the only prize to which we aspire” is one of social justice for Colombia.

This is the 115th year of the Nobel Peace Prize, established by Alfred Nobel to recognize “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” In the past, the Nobel committee has recognized other leaders who worked toward peace even if their goals had not yet been achieved. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger won the prize for working to end the Vietnam War before the conflict officially resolved, and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was a co-recipient for his negotiations with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.