Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister of the People\'s Republic of Bangladesh
Viewing political, ethnic, religious or cultural conflicts caused by the difficulty for minority populations to live peacefully in unitary states, the Jury of the Félix Houphouet-Boigny Peace wanted to draw the attention of the international community on efforts undertaken by the two winners of the 1998 Edition for the pursuit of peace, by means of dialogue and negotiation.
The 1998 Prize was awarded to a woman, Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People\'s Republic of Bangladesh, which signed a peace agreement Dec. 2, 1997 with the rebels of Chittagong thus ending 25 years of civil war in this region of his country and the Senator George J. Mitchell, whose work has enabled the protagonists of the Irish crisis to achieve the Good Friday Agreement (Stormont Agreement of 10 April 1998)
By granting these officials the Panel expressed the wish that the results achieved by these winners would set as an example for conflict resolution.
