The Irish rock star, who was named one of Time Magazine’s “Persons of the Year” for 2005, has been involved with the war on poverty, particularly in Africa, for over 20 years, speaking at various gatherings and forums and performing at charity events, including last year’s Live 8 concert series, whose founder, Bob Geldof, is also nominated for this year’s Peace Prize
In 2002, Bono established his own awareness organization called DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), which lobbies to the governments of wealthy nations for an increased flow of resources to Africa. The singer was also present at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast, held on Feb. 2, where he encouraged those gathered to “get involved with what God is doing” in regards to involvement with serving poor and alienated societies around the world. President Bush, who also spoke at the breakfast, commended Bono as being a “doer” and a “good citizen of the world
Other nominees for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize include former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, longtime Iran investigator Kenneth R. Timmerman and others
For more information, go to www.nobel.no