The Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership is awarded by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation

Mo Ibrahim Foundation

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was launched in October 2006 to support good governance and great leadership in Africa.It was founded by Dr.Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese philanthropist and businessman who founded telecommunications company Celtel International in 1998....

 to Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n heads of state who deliver security, health, education and economic development to their constituents, and who democratically transfer power to their successor. It was sponsored by Mo Ibrahim

Mo Ibrahim

Dr. Mohamed "Mo" Ibrahim is a Sudanese mobile communications entrepreneur and billionaire. He worked for several other telecommunications companies before founding Celtel, which when sold had over 24 million mobile phone subscribers in 14 African countries...

, a businessman born in Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

. According to Ibrahim, "Good governance is crucial." With a $5 million initial payment, plus $200,000 a year for life, the prize is believed to be the world's largest, exceeding the $1.3m Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...

. Former South African President Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

, former United States President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan

Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...

 are among those who have welcomed the initiative.

The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership was awarded in 2007 and 2008. Former South African president Nelson Mandela is an honorary laureate.

On June 13, 2010, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced its decision not to award that year's Ibrahim Prize..

Winners

Year	Laureate(s)	Country	Left office Year	Rationale
2007	Joaquim Chissano Joaquim Chissano Joaquim Alberto Chissano served as the second President of Mozambique for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 until 2 February 2005. Since stepping down as president, Chissano has become an elder statesman and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations, to be an envoy or...	Mozambique Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...	2005	for "his role in leading Mozambique from conflict to peace and democracy."
2008	Festus Mogae Festus Mogae Festus Gontebanye Mogae is a Botswana politician who was President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was reelected in October 2004; after ten years in office, he stepped down in 2008 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Ian Khama...	Botswana Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...	2008	“President Mogae’s outstanding leadership has ensured Botswana’s continued stability and prosperity in the face of an HIV/AIDS pandemic which threatened the future of his country and people."
2009	No award
2010
2011	Pedro Pires Pedro Pires Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires was the President of Cape Verde from March 2001 to September 2011. Before becoming President, he was Prime Minister from 1975 to 1991....	Cape Verde Cape Verde The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...	2011

External links

• Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Official Website
• Mike Jakeman, "Rewarding the Rich", The Oxonian Review
• Coverage in the New Yorker