Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Friday despite Columbians rejecting his peace deal with the rebel group, FARC, in a recent referendum, the Norwegian Nobel prize committee announced in Oslo.
According to a committee spokeswoman, Santos’ “endeavors to promote peace demonstrate the spirit of Alfred Nobel’s will.” According to televised comments, which were also streamed on the official Nobel website, she said the president “brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution.
“The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task."
The Colombian government led by Santos had signed a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as FARC, to bring an end to the 52-year war in the country. Talks on the deal began in Cuba in November 2011 and ran for almost four years before an agreement was reached last month. The deal was formally signed Sept. 26 to great fanfare before international dignitaries.