Nobel Peace Prizes have been received by Africans. It is a small but prestigious list with notable winners being Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan and the most recent Denis Mukwege.
Since the inception of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, there have been 11 Nobel Laureates from Africa selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The Nobel peace prize is one of the five annual international awards bestowed in a number of categories in recognition of academic, cultural and or scientific advances.
The Nobel Laureates include the following Africans:
1. Albert Luthuli, South Africa, 1960
Albert Luthuli was the first African and the first person from outside Europe and the Americas to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Luthuli was awarded the prestigious award in 1960 for his role in championing for non-violent resistance to racial discrimination in South Africa.
During his acceptance speech, Luthuli noted that the award was a recognition of the sacrifice made by many of all races, particularly the African people, who had endured and suffered for long. Luthuli died at the age of 69, in 1967 after a fatal accident near his home in Stanger, now known as KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
2. Anwar al-Sadat, Egypt 1978
Anwar al-Sadat President of Egypt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel. The two were awarded in 1978 for their contribution to the two frame agreements on peace in the Middle East and on peace between Egypt and Israel, which were signed at Camp David, USA on September 17, 1978. Sadat was assassinated in 1981.
3. Desmond Tutu, South Africa 1984
Desmond Tutu is a world-renowned preacher, human rights activist and a strident voice against apartheid. The retired Anglican Bishop won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in resolving and ending apartheid in South Africa. The Nobel Committee saluted him for his clear views and his fearless stance, characteristics which had made him a unifying symbol for all African freedom fighters.
4. Nelson Mandela, South Africa 1993
Nelson Mandela, one of the most celebrated human rights symbols of the twentieth century, is a man whose dedication to the liberties of his people inspires human rights advocates throughout the world.
He was awarded The Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 jointly with the then President Frederik Willem de Klerk for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa. Mandela became South Africa’s democratically elected president in 1994 an office he held until 1999 when he retired.
5. Frederik Willem de Klerk, South Africa, 1993
FW de Klerk was South Africa’s President during apartheid. After the release of Mandela, negotiations together with other party leaders were held for the peaceful end of apartheid and transition to democratic rule. He was awarded The Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 together with Nelson Mandela for their efforts to bring reforms in South Africa.
6. Kofi Annan, Ghana, 2001
In 2001 Ghana’s Kofi Annan the then UN Secretary was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the United Nations for their work for a better organised and more peaceful world. Kofi Annan received the Peace Prize for having revitalised the UN and for having given priority to human rights. The Nobel Committee also recognised his commitment to the struggle to contain the spreading of the HIV virus in Africa and his declared opposition to international terrorism.
7. Wangari Maathai, Kenya, 2004
Wangari Maathai environmentalist and founder of the Green Belt Movement received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. The Nobel committee acknowledged her efforts in standing up courageously against the former oppressive regime in Kenya. Wangari Maathai was the first woman from Africa to be honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize.
8. Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt, 2005
Mohamed ElBaradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) received the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the UN’s nuclear watchdog IAEA for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.
9. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia, 2011
Liberia’s President was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 alongside peace activist Lymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work. Sirleaf was elected as Liberia’s president in 2005 and became the first female head of state ever to be democratically elected in Africa.
10. Lymah Gbowee, Liberia, 2011
Lymah Gbowee, is a women’s rights champion and she received the Nobel Prize jointly with her president alongside Tawakkol Karman from Yemen. During the civil war that ravaged Liberia, Gbowee called together women from different ethnic and religious groups in the fight for peace. Dressed in white T-shirts they held daily demonstrations at the fish market in Monrovia. Gbowee also worked to help those who suffered psychological trauma during the civil war in Liberia, including child soldiers.
11. Denis Mukwege, Congo, 2018
Denis Mukwege is a Congolese gynaecologist and Pentecostal pastor. He founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018, Mukwege and Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting against the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.
