Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been selected the recipient of the 2025 Sunhak Peace Founders’ Prize.
The Sunhak Peace Prize committee announced on Monday that Jonathan will receive the Founders’ Prize for his consistent mediation and pro-democracy work on the African continent.
The committee mentioned the associations he leads. These are the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF), the West African Elders Forum (WAEF), and the International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP), as important examples of his accomplishments.
Jonathan will receive the award on Friday in Seoul from the Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation in South Korea.
Jonathan becomes the third and first African leader to receive the Sunhak Award in this category. This follows former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, founded the Sunhak Peace Prize to carry on his legacy.
It is given out biennially to persons and organisations who have made significant contributions to peace and development.
The prize was established at the request of Moon’s widow, Hak Ja Han. It was to serve as an alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize is divided into two categories: the Founders Sunhak Peace Award and the Sunhak Peace Prize.
Past winners of the second category include former Senegalese President Macky Sall, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Sarah Catherine Gilbert, co-developer of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.
President Bola Tinubu thanked Jonathan on Tuesday, calling the award a great achievement.
“The President states that Dr Jonathan’s winning the Sunhak Peace Award affirms his bold efforts in peace-building and promoting democracy in Africa and beyond,” a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson, reads.
“The President recalls the former President’s historic acceptance of the results of the 2015 presidential election and his peaceful handover of power to an opposition party, which bolstered the nation’s democratic profile.”
Tinubu also thanked the award committee for recognising the efforts of those working hard to improve the world.