Johan Vincent Galtung

Johan Vincent Galtung was born in Oslo to a prominent medical family. He earned doctorates in mathematics and sociology from the University of Oslo. In 1959, Galtung founded the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the world's first academic research institute dedicated to peace studies, followed in 1964 by the establishment of the prestigious Journal of Peace Research.

Galtung revolutionized modern political sociology by introducing concepts that became foundational to international relations. He distinguished between "negative peace" (the mere absence of armed violence) and "positive peace" (the presence of social justice, equity, and human harmony). He also formulated the concept of "structural violence," describing systemic societal inequalities that harm human potential as effectively as physical weapons. Galtung mediated over 100 international conflicts across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1987.