Peace Prize ‘a gift from heaven’

An agreement between the Colombian government and the Farc rebel group, ending more than 50 years of conflict, was rejected by Colombians in a vote in October. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that President Juan Manuel Santos would be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking to HARDtalk in Oslo on 9 December, day before he collected his prize, President Santos said the prize “came like a big wind that pushed the whole country, and me, and the whole process to the port of destiny which was a peace agreement.”

Last month the Colombian government and the Farc signed a revised deal. President Santos told HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur the Nobel Peace Prize “was interpreted as a mandate from the international community to continue and to persevere.”