Former Cape Verde President Wins $5-Million Ibrahim Prize

The former president of Cape Verde has received the world’s largest award for statesmanship, the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, The New York Times reports.

Pedro de Verona Rodrigues Pires stepped down last month after serving 10 years as president of the tiny archipelago nation 300 miles off the coast of West Africa.

During his tenure, the former Portuguese colony became the second African country to shed the United Nations’ “least developed” classification, and Mr. Pires refused calls to change the constitution so he could run for a third term.

The Ibrahim Prize, given by the foundation of Mo Ibrahim, a telecommunications magnate born in Sudan, honors democratically elected African rulers who abide by their national constitutions, demonstrate “excellence in office,” and leave their posts peacefully. The foundation had withheld the award for the past two years, saying no leader on the continent met its criteria.