The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership — the world’s biggest individual prize — was not awarded this year as no suitable candidates were found, it was announced Monday.
At a press conference in London, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said it was not going to compromise on its standard of excellence in a leader.
The prize, set up by Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim in 2006, carries a $5 million prize paid over 10 years and $200,000 annually for life from then on, with a further $200,000 per year available for 10 years for good causes backed by the winner.
The award goes to a democratically-elected African leader who has served their mandated term and left office in the last three years.
“You make your bed, you have to lie on it. If we said we’re going to have a prize for exceptional leadership, we have to stick to that. We are not going to compromise,” Ibrahim said.
The telecoms entrepreneur’s foundation has awarded the annual prize only three times since it was established, plus two special awards given to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and former archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Cape Verde’s former president Pedro Verona Pires won the prize last year, while Botswana’s ex-leader Festus Mogae took the prize in 2008 and Mozambique’s Joaquim Chissano in 2007.
No winner of 2012 Ibrahim African governance prize
