The Chatham House Prize is awarded to the person, persons or organization deemed to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year.

The nominees are:

• Charlotte Osei, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana: nominated for ensuring a peaceful and transparent electoral process in Ghana in December 2016, further consolidating Ghana’s 24-year long democratic journey.
• Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia: nominated for formally ratifying a peace agreement with the FARC rebel group and bringing an end to the war in Colombia.
• Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO: nominated for steering NATO through one of the most complicated periods in its recent history.

The winner will be announced later this year, and an award ceremony will take place in the autumn.

More about the 2017 nominees

More about the Prize and previous winners

A message from the director

It is with great sadness that we mark the death of Michael Williams, Baron Williams of Baglan, who passed away peacefully on Sunday 23 April at his home in Oxfordshire, following a brief battle with cancer.

Michael became a distinguished fellow at Chatham House, one of our first, in October 2011, when he returned to London after completing his time at the United Nations and becoming a life peer and the international trustee at the BBC. Michael brought to the institute his extensive experience both at the UN, where he reached the level of under secretary general (having served as the UN special coordinator for Lebanon and, earlier, as the special adviser to the secretary general on the Middle East), and in government, where he served as special diplomatic adviser to foreign secretaries Robin Cook and Jack Straw and UK special envoy for the Middle East. 

Earlier in his career, Michael worked as part of the UN Transitional Administration for Cambodia (UNTAC) and the UN Protection Force for the Former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR), after stints as a senior editor at the BBC World Service and the head of the Asia research department at Amnesty International.

Michael's principal passions at Chatham House were the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He was executive chair of our Middle East and North Africa Programme’s Syria and its Neighbours project and chaired or contributed to numerous events and debates, while offering a steady stream of incisive insights into the difficult situation there through his writing, his regular commentary to the media and addresses to high-level seminars and conferences. 

Michael also sustained his keen interest in Southeast Asia, having gained his MA and PhD on Indonesia from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Michael generously stepped in to serve as the acting head of the Asia Programme from mid-2012 to early 2014. In 2012, he helped to welcome Aung San Suu Kyi to London as a Chatham House Prize winner, following her release from house arrest, and went on to develop and lead a major Chatham House roundtable in Myanmar in September 2014.

Michael was a wonderful colleague; humorous, approachable and engaged with senior and junior staff in equal measure. He treasured his time at Chatham House and believed deeply in the institute's mission. He served on the editorial board on International Affairs from 1998–2006 and as a member of Council from 2001–05, and chaired the steering committee of our annual London Conference since its inception in 2014. He was also invaluable to me as an informal adviser throughout his time with the institute. We will miss him greatly.

Dr Robin Niblett
Director, Chatham House

Memorial Event

Celebrating the Life of Michael Williams (1949–2017)

Obituaries

The Guardian (by Alan Philps)
The Daily Telegraph
The Times
Financial Times
The Independent

Selected writing from Michael’s time at the institute

Burma: Signs of Hope
Expert Comment, 21 June 2012

The United Nations: Past and Present
International Affairs, September 2013, Volume 89, Number 5

Talking to Hezbollah
International Affairs, January 2015, Volume 91, Number 1

Myanmar’s Troubled Path to Reform
Chatham House Research Paper, 26 February 2015

Is It Better to Forget?
The World Today, June/July 2016

The Road Out of Syria’s Inferno
The World Today, October/November 2016

The Chatham House Prize is presented annually to the person, persons or organization deemed by members of the Royal Institute of International Affairs to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year.

This year, members of the institute voted for President Juan Manuel Santos in recognition of his role in formally ratifying a peace agreement with the FARC rebel group and bringing an end to the armed conflict in Colombia.

In 2016, after four years of negotiation, Juan Manuel Santos led the Colombian government in ratifying a peace agreement with the FARC. Success was by no means certain: after coming to a ceasefire and disarmament agreement in June, followed by a peace accord in September, Santos was forced to return to the drawing board with FARC negotiators after a referendum in October rejected the initial deal. But Santos persevered, drafting and signing a new deal that incorporated changes suggested by the No camp and was ratified by the Colombian congress on 24 November 2016.

The deal ended one of the world’s longest running armed conflicts, during which 220,000 people were killed and 6 million displaced. This was a complex, sensitive and intense process which required exceptional political diplomacy and perseverance. Ultimately, his determination and commitment to peace guided the main parties and international partners to one of the biggest successes in brokering peace in modern history.

Nominees

The nominees for the Chatham House Prize 2017 were:

• Charlotte Osei, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana
• Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia
• Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO

Event

President Santos will be presented the award at an event in London on Thursday 9 November.

About the Chatham House Prize

The Chatham House Prize is presented to the person, persons or organization deemed by members of Chatham House to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year.

The selection process is independent, democratic and draws on the deep knowledge of Chatham House's research teams, making the Prize a distinctive and unique award in the field of international affairs.

A short-list of nominees is selected by the institute's three presidents from a longer list submitted by the research programmes and departments in their areas of expertise. The recipient is then determined by Chatham House's broad membership base on a one-member, one-vote basis. The award is presented on behalf of the institute's patron, Her Majesty the Queen, representing the non-partisan and authoritative character of the Prize.

The Chatham House Prize was launched in 2005. Previous recipients of the Prize include Burmese democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, Médecins Sans Frontières, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

For more information, please contact: 
Jenny Williams, Head of Media
Email: jwilliams@chathamhouse.org
Phone:  +44 (0) 207 314 3687 

Presenting latest thinking from our senior research fellows on the dynamics that will affect fossil fuels investment and markets in the year ahead and promoting high-level discussion amongst experts.

The first session examines the oil price market which faces great uncertainty in 2017 with the OPEC agreement in Algiers raising questions about  compliance, supply and impact on the industry's future. It will also assess how US production may alter given the new administration; the state of the nuclear agreement with Iran; and future events in the Middle East.

The second session looks at what Brexit and the election of President Trump means for energy and climate policy in the UK and globally, investigating the major challenges, areas of contention, and areas of opportunity for the UK’s climate and energy policy in light of Brexit.

The second speaker in this session will outline what the appointment of President Trump will mean for global energy and climate policy.

Attendance at this event is by invitation only.