Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wins Nobel peace prize 2016

The Norwegian Committee has awarded the 2016 Nobel peace prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his work to bring peace to his country and for signing a peace deal last month with the country's FARC rebels to end 52 years of war.

He won despite the fact that the peace deal was voted down in a referendum less than a week ago, reports the Guardian.

The Nobel committee spokeswoman applauded Santos for saying he would fight for peace until his last day in office.

"The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task. Further, it is the committee's hope that in the years to come, the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the reconciliation process."

She said although the peace accord was rejected in the referendum, the negotiations have "brought the bloody conflict significantly closer to a peaceful solution" and Santos's "endeavours to promote peace demonstrate the spirit of Alfred Nobel's will".

Santos, and the leader of the Farc rebel group, Rodrigo Londoño, known as Timochenko, were considered leading contenders for the awards for signing the peace deal.

However, it was believed their chances for winning were wrecked on Sunday when a referendum saw the peace deal narrowly rejected by the Colombian people.