AfricaNews Monitoring Team with files from BBC
Former Cape Verde president Pedro Verona Pires won the $5 million Mo Ibrahim award for African leadership on Monday for shepherding his tiny Atlantic Ocean island state from autocracy to prosperous democracy. The award, established in 2006 by Sudanese telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim to improve the quality of African governments, also praised Pires for his decision this year not to run for office again after the expiry of his second term.
"Throughout his long career, President Pires has been dedicated to the service of his people, including those in the diaspora, while retaining his humility and personal dignity," the award committee said in a statement.
Previous winners of the award include Mozambique's Joaquim Chissano and Botswana's Festus Mogae. There were no winners in 2009 and 2010, because of a lack of suitable candidates, organisers said.
Pires was prominent in Cape Verde's struggle for independence from Portugal, and became prime minister in 1975, a position that allowed him to pave the way towards the first democratic elections in 1991.
Cape Verde - an Atlantic archipelago of 10 islands - has experienced significant economic growth in recent years, partly due to a boom in tourism. It is now classed by the United Nations as a middle-income country.
The prize is supposed to be awarded each year to a democratically elected leader who has voluntarily left office.
There has been no winner for two years.
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