Tuesday, 27 August 2019, Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany: The Hessian Peace Prize 2019 shall be awarded to the incumbent Ethiopian 15th Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali. This was announced by the Board of Trustees in Wiesbaden as per statement. The bestowal pays tribute to what has moved the 43-year-old head of government in the short time since taking office in April 2018.
In his first year in office, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed released dissidents, fired corrupt officials, and sealed a historic reconciliation. For this, he now receives the Hessian Peace Prize.
Abiy has become the hopeful, especially through the conclusion of a peace treaty with the neighbouring country of Eritrea. For 20 years, the two states had been at a state of no war, no peace. Domestically, Abiy initiated political and economic reforms in the multi-ethnic nation of 105 million people.
Abiy has scheduled free elections for May 2020. This year, his campaign to plant four billion trees for residents across the country made headlines.
The decision to award the Ethiopian was announced on Tuesday by the members of the Board of TrusteesKarl Starzacher (Chairman), Boris Rhein (President of the Landtag, CDU) and Nicole Deitelhoff (Hessian Foundation for Peace and Conflict Research).
For further information:
Hessian Peace Prize Foundation: https://hessischer-landtag.de/content/pressekonferenz-hessischer-friedenspreis
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessischer_Friedenspreis
https://diplomatmagazine.eu/2017/09/21/hessian-peace-prize-2016-awarded-mogherini/
Prime Minister of Ethiopia: https://pmo.gov.et
Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Germany (HE Ambassador Mulu Solomon BEZUNEH): http://aethiopien-botschaft.de/?p=3977
