Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has been named the recipient of the 2025 Founder’s Sunhak Peace Award, which will be presented by the Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation in Seoul, South Korea. A statement from his Special Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, announced the news on the evening of March 23. Jonathan becomes the third person, and the first African leader, to win this prestigious award, following former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The award ceremony, the sixth of its kind, is scheduled to take place in Seoul on Friday, April 11, 2025, where Dr. Jonathan and other honorees will be celebrated.
The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee highlighted Jonathan’s long-standing efforts in mediation and promoting pro-democracy initiatives aimed at fostering peace across Africa. His contributions are particularly evident through his leadership of organizations such as the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF), the West African Elders Forum (WAEF), and the International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP).
The Founder’s Sunhak Peace Award and the Sunhak Peace Prize are biennial honors presented to individuals and organizations recognized for their significant contributions to global peace and human development.
Previous winners of the Sunhak Peace Prize include former Senegalese President Macky Sall, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, Dame Sarah Catherine Gilbert (co-developer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine), and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.
Jonathan will receive his award alongside three other recipients recently announced by José Manuel Durão Barroso, Chair of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee and former President of the European Commission. The other honorees are Patrick Awuah Jr., Founder and President of Ashesi University in Ghana; Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen; and Wanjira Mathai, Regional Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute.
In her pre-event address, Hak Ja Han Moon, the founder of the Sunhak Peace Prize, emphasized that the lives of the laureates serve as an inspiring example of how peace can be achieved through concrete actions and cultural transformation. “Over the past decade, the Sunhak Peace Prize has identified and honored individuals who have dedicated themselves to addressing urgent global challenges based on its three core values: respect for human rights, reconciliation of conflicts, and ecological conservation,” she said.
