Nigeria former President Goodluck Jonathan has been awarded the 2025 Sunhak Peace Founders’ Prize for his role in mediation and democracy advocacy across Africa. The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee announced the decision on Monday, citing his leadership in various peace-building initiatives.

Jonathan, who heads organizations such as the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, the West African Elders Forum, and the International Summit Council for Peace, will receive the award on Friday in Seoul, South Korea. The recognition places him among a select group of global leaders who have received this honor. He is the first African leader to win this category of the prize, following previous recipients Ban Ki-Moon, former United Nations Secretary-General, and Hun Sen, Cambodia’s Prime Minister.

The Sunhak Peace Prize was established to carry forward the legacy of Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, and is awarded every two years to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to peace and human development. The prize was created by Moon’s widow, Hak Ja Han, as an alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize, and is divided into two categories: the Founders’ Sunhak Peace Award and the Sunhak Peace Prize.

Past winners include prominent figures such as former Senegalese President Macky Sall, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, as well as Sarah Catherine Gilbert, co-developer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu congratulated Jonathan on the award, calling it a landmark achievement. He praised Jonathan’s commitment to peace-building and democracy, recalling his historic decision to peacefully concede the 2015 presidential election, which was a defining moment in Nigeria’s democratic progress. Tinubu also expressed gratitude to the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee for recognizing global efforts to create a more peaceful world.