The 2016 Nobel Peace Prize was on 7 October 2016 awarded 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, a war that took away the lives of at least 220000 Colombians and displaced nearly six million people.
The civil war in Colombia is one of the longest civil wars in modern times and the sole remaining armed conflict in the Americas.
President Juan Manuel Santos's role in Columbian War
• President Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in the peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas as he consistently sought to move the peace process forward.
• The accord was controversial, however he was instrumental in ensuring that Colombian voters were able to voice their opinion concerning the peace accord in a referendum.
• The outcome of the vote was not what President Santos wanted as a narrow majority of the over 13 million Colombians voted against the accord.
• Despite the "No" majority vote in the referendum, President Santos brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution.
• His endeavours to promote peace thus fulfil the criteria and spirit of prize.
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