The announcement was made in London by the chair of the Prize Committee, former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, before an audience of diplomats, journalists and civil society representatives.
Chissano himself was nowhere to be seen - and he probably does not yet know that he has won the prize. According to the executive director of the foundation Chissano set up on leaving office, former Mozambican Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao, Chissano is in a remote area of northern Uganda, undertaking the last task that Annan gave him - as special envoy to solve the conflict pitting the Ugandan government of President Yoweri Museveni against the rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
The prize for excellent leadership in Africa is the largest individual award in the world. Chissano will be given five million US dollars, and will receive a further 200,000 dollars every year for the rest of his life. On top of this 200,000 dollars will be donated annually for a decade to Chissano's public interest activities and good causes.
The Prize Committee acted independently of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Its other members include Martti Ahtisaari, former UN Special Representative for Namibia and former President of Finland; Aicha Bah Diallo, former Minister of Education in Guinea and Special Adviser to the Director-General of UNESCO; former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who will take over in December as Managing Director of the World Bank; Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Salim Ahmed Salim, former Prime Minister of Tanzania and former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity.
Annan declared "President Chissano's achievements in bringing peace, reconciliation, stable democracy and economic progress to his country greatly impressed the committee. So, too, did his decision to step down without seeking the third term the constitution allowed".
Annan also had praise for the Mozambican government's achievements in the fields of economic growth, poverty reduction and the fight against HIV/AIDS. However, he stressed that "it is in his role in leading Mozambique from conflict to peace and democracy that President Chissano has made his most outstanding contribution".
He also commended Chissano for his "major contribution outside his country's borders" which included providing "a powerful voice for Africa on the international stage".
Annan stated that "the Prize celebrates more than just good governance. It celebrates leadership. The ability to formulate a vision and to convince others of that vision; and the skill of giving courage to society to accept difficult changes in order to make possible a longer term aspiration for a better, fairer future."
This is the first in what will be an annual prize set up by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. The prize aims to encourage leaders who "fully dedicate their term in office to surmounting the development challenges of their countries, improving the livelihoods and welfare of their people and consolidating the foundation for sustainable development".
The founder of the prize, Sudanese millionaire Mo Ibrahim, said that he was "absolutely delighted that Joaquim Chissano has been selected as the first Laureate. As a man who has reconciled a divided nation and built the foundations for a stable, democratic and prosperous future for the country, he is a role-model not just for Africa, but for the rest of the world".
SOURCE: AIM
