# Nobel Peace Prize > Nobelinstituttet Main language:en_GB ## [Home](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/) ### [Billboard](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/billboard/) ### [Bannerlist](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/bannerlist/) - [The Nobel Peace Prize celebrations](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/the-nobel-peace-prize-celebrations) > ![The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133238-1632292207/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/Ceremony_2018.jpg%20%28optimized_original%29.jpg ) > The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded on the day of Alfred Nobel’s death, the 10th of December, a time-honored tradition since 1901. During the Nobel days in December a number of events mark the occasion. - [Ballots not Bullets: The Democratic Pathway to Peace](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/ballots-not-bullets-the-democratic-pathway-to-peace-1/): Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2025 > ![Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2025](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137895-1763993572/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2025/730x487-web-stort.png%20%28optimized_original%29.webp ) > Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence. With Venezuela as an example, this year’s Forum will focus on democracy as the foundation for peace, and how the transition from authoritarianism to democracy can pave the way for peace in different parts of the world. ### [Shortcuts](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/shortcuts/) #### [Research](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/) > Find information on the Nobel Institute's research activities #### [Archive](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/library-and-archive/archive/archive) > About the archive and access application #### [Nomination](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/nomination/) > All you need to know about the nomination process ### [Relevant articles](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/relevant-articles/) - [Press images](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/press/press-photos/download-for-media) - [The Norwegian Nobel Committee Calls on Iran to End Cruel Abuse and Free Narges Mohammadi Immediately](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/press/press-releases/the-norwegian-nobel-committee-calls-on-iran-to-end-cruel-abuse-and-free-narges-mohammadi-immediately) - [The Norwegian Nobel Committee’s ethical framework](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/press/press-releases/the-norwegian-nobel-committee-s-ethical-framework) - [Urgent message to the Iranian authorities from the Norwegian Nobel Committee](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/press/press-releases/urgent-message-to-the-iranian-authorities-from-the-norwegian-nobel-committee) ## [Laureates](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/) - [1901](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1901) > Henry Dunant > for his humanitarian efforts to help wounded soldiers and create international understanding > Switzerland > Europe > (1828 - 1910) > ![Henry Dunant](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132083-1629705997/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Dunant.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Founder of the Red CrossIn 1859, a battle was raging at the town of Solferino in Northern Italy. There the Swiss businessman Henry Dunant saw thousands of Italian, French and Austrian soldiers killing and maiming each other. On his own initiative, he organized aid work. Later he wrote the book A Memory of Solferino, which contained a plan: all countries should form associations to help the sick and wounded on the battlefield - whichever side they belonged to. The result was the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863, and the adoption of the Geneva Convention in the following year. It laid down that all wounded soldiers in a land war should be treated as friends. Medical personnel would be protected by the red cross in a white field. For Dunant personally, financial difficulties led to poverty and loss of social respect. But the organization he had created grew, and the underlying ideas won gradual acceptance. It pleased the ageing Dunant that the Norwegian Nobel Committee rewarded his life's work with the Nobel Peace Prize.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//dunant/facts/ > Frédéric Passy > for his lifelong work for international peace conferences, diplomacy and arbitration > France > Europe > (1822 - 1912) > ![Frédéric Passy](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132097-1629706000/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Passy.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Scientist, Politician and Peace ActivistAt the turn of the century, everyone agreed that Frédéric Passy was a worthy Laureate. In both age and prominence, he was the dean of the international peace movement. Both as an economist and as a politician, he maintained that free trade between independent nations promoted peace. Passy founded the first French Peace Society, which held a congress in Paris during the 1878 World Exhibition. As an independent leftist republican in the French Chamber of Deputies, he opposed France's colonial policy because it did not accord with the ideals of free trade. Passy was also one of the founders of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an organization for cooperation between the elected representatives of different countries. Despite his age, Passy kept up his work for peace after . In 1905, when the conflict over the union between Sweden and Norway peaked, Passy declared that a peaceful solution would make him a hundred times happier than when he received the Nobel Prize. And Passy saw his wish fulfilled.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//passy/facts/ > 1 - [1902](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1902) > Élie Ducommun > for his untiring and skilful directorship of the Bern Peace Bureau > Switzerland > Europe > (1833 - 1906) > ![Élie Ducommun](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132090-1629705998/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Ducommun.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Optimist and Peace ActivistÉlie Ducommun was the honorary Secretary-General of the International Peace Bureau in Berne from its establishment in 1890 and until his death. The Bureau served as the link between peace organizations in different countries. In his spare time, Ducommun prepared programs for international peace congresses, published resolutions, and corresponded with promoters of peace. In addition he published numerous writings, among which his practical program for friends of peace was prominent. In it, Ducommun maintained that people could be educated to choose peaceful solutions. International arbitration was the means whereby war could be prevented. It was chiefly his work at the Peace Bureau that earned Élie Ducommun the Nobel Peace Prize, but his life's work was many-sided. In early years he was a teacher, and then a prominent liberal democrat politician. From 1873 on he was the skilful director of the Jura-Simplon railway line, and believed that modern communications provided positive links between peoples, and could thus lead to peace.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//ducommun/facts/ > Albert Gobat > for his eminently practical administration of the Inter-Parliamentary Union > Switzerland > Europe > (1843 - 1914) > ![Albert Gobat](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132111-1629706003/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Gobat.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Inter-Parliamentarian and OrganizerAlbert Gobat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize first and foremost for his efforts to bring popularly elected representatives from various countries together at meetings and congresses. His work as a national politician led him into international work for peace. Gobat participated in the Inter-Parliamentary Union from its beginnings in 1889. When the Inter-Parliamentary Bureau was established in Berne three years later, Gobat was chosen to be its Secretary-General. Unsalaried, he planned the conferences which the Union held each year, drew up the agendas, and drafted proposals for resolutions. He tried to set up inter-parliamentary groups in countries which had none, edited a periodical, and distributed literature about peace and arbitration. Gobat took over as Secretary-General of the International Peace Bureau when Élie Ducommun died in 1906. This meant that he was at the same time heading the offices of both the inter-parliamentary and the popular peace movement. Gobat lived to see the International Peace Bureau honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for 1910.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//gobat/facts/ > 1 - [1903](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1903) > Randal Cremer > for his longstanding and devoted effort in favour of the ideas of peace and arbitration > United Kingdom > Europe > (1828 - 1908) > ![Randal Cremer](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132104-1629706001/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Cremer.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Father of the Inter-Parliamentary UnionWilliam Randal Cremer was nicknamed the “Member of Arbitration” by his colleagues in Parliament. This was not without reason. All his life he worked for the use of arbitration to resolve international conflicts, with the aim of preventing war. Cremer held prominent positions of trust in the popular peace movement, and took the initiative for the establishment of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1889. The organization provided a forum where elected representatives of different countries could cooperate. It was a triumph for Cremer that the Hague Conference in 1899 resolved to establish an international court of arbitration. In Parliament, Cremer spoke out fearlessly against war, among other things criticizing the British Government for the Boer War in South Africa. Randal Cremer's origins were humble. He was apprenticed as a carpenter, and became a trade unionist before being elected to Parliament. In 1907 King Edward VII dubbed the old peace activist a knight, and released Cremer from the obligation to wear a sword at the ceremony.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//cremer/facts/ > 0 - [1904](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1904) > Institute of International Law > for its striving in public law to develop peaceful ties between nations and to make the laws of war more humane > Belgium > Europe > ![Institut de Droit International](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132118-1629706005/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_IDI.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For the reign of law in international relations“Justitia et pace” - Justice and peace - is the slogan of this nongovernmental organization of lawyers, founded in 1873. The Belgian lawyer Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns was the initiator, and the aim was to build an international institute which would be an authority on international law. The organization he created is still working to make the rules of international law, not war and violence, the guidelines for relations between sovereign states. In , the Institute of International Law won special praise for promoting international arbitration and for persuading states to accept the rules of law in wartime. The Institute was among other things given the credit for the provisions on arbitration which were adopted by the Hague Congress in 1899. In the inter-war years, the work of the Institute was very important to the League of Nations. Since 1945 the United Nations has found the reports and legal interpretations issued by the Institute of International Law very helpful. The seat of the Institute is at the Secretary-General's place of residence.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//international-law/facts/ > 0 - [1905](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1905) > Bertha von Suttner > for her audacity to oppose the horrors of war > Austria > Europe > (1843 - 1914) > ![Bertha von Suttner](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132125-1629706006/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Suttner.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Author and “Generalissimo of the Peace Movement”Baroness Bertha von Suttner, the first woman to be awarded the Peace Prize, wrote one of the nineteenth century's most influential books, the anti-war novel “Lay Down Your Arms” (1889). The title was provocative to many, but the anti-militaristic message caught on. In the 1870s she became a close friend of Alfred Nobel's, and they corresponded for years on the subject of peace. The Peace Prize Laureate became one of the leaders of the international peace movement, and in 1891 established the Austrian Peace Society. At the male-dominated peace congresses she stood out as a liberal and forceful leader. At the beginning of the new century she was referred to as the “generalissimo of the peace movement”. There is little doubt that von Suttner's friendship with Alfred Nobel had an impact on the contents of his will, and many give her the credit for his establishment of a peace prize. “Inform me, convince me, and then I will do something great for the movement”, Alfred Nobel said to Bertha von Suttner.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//suttner/facts/ > 0 - [1906](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1906) > Theodore Roosevelt > for his role in bringing to an end the bloody war recently waged between two of the world's great powers, Japan and Russia > USA > North America > (1858 - 1919) > ![Theodore Roosevelt](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132160-1629706014/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Roosevelt.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Imperialist and Peace ArbitratorTheodore Roosevelt, President of the USA, received the Peace Prize for having negotiated peace in the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-5. He also resolved a dispute with Mexico by resorting to arbitration as recommended by the peace movement. Roosevelt was the first statesman to be awarded the Peace Prize, and for the first time the award was controversial. The Norwegian Left argued that Roosevelt was a “military mad” imperialist who completed the American conquest of the Philippines. Swedish newspapers wrote that Alfred Nobel was turning in his grave, and that Norway awarded the Peace Prize to Roosevelt in order to win powerful friends after the dramatic dissolution of the union with Sweden the previous year. In domestic policy, Roosevelt was a radical within the Republican Party. He went in for social reforms and for state control of big capital. Roosevelt's term as President ended in 1908. During World War I he tried in vain to be allowed to serve as an officer, and in 1919 he opposed US membership of the new League of Nations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//roosevelt/facts/ > 0 - [1907](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1907) > Ernesto Teodoro Moneta > for his work in the press and in peace meetings, both public and private, for an understanding between France and Italy > Italy > Europe > (1833 - 1918) > ![Ernesto Teodoro Moneta](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132146-1629706011/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Moneta.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Champion of Peace, Officer and JournalistErnesto Moneta was only 15 when he first experienced war. Together with his father and brothers, he fought in the streets of Milan to free the city from the Austrians. This experience shaped his view of life: states ought to cooperate to prevent war and human slaughter. Moneta completed military training and fought with the freedom fighter Garibaldi, but left the forces and began work as a journalist. From 1867 on, he edited the daily paper Il Secolo in Milan. In his articles, Moneta wrote that the Italian army should be a popular militia only for use in wars of defense. The most important goal, however, was to cultivate a feeling of brotherhood among peoples. In the 1890s, Moneta stood out as the unrivalled leader of the Italian peace movement.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//moneta/facts/ > Louis Renault > for his decisive influence upon the conduct and outcome of the Hague and Geneva Conferences > France > Europe > (1843 - 1918) > ![Louis Renault](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132132-1629706007/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Renault.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Expert in International Law and Practical Promoter of PeaceIn the opinion of the lawyer Louis Renault, peace could be brought about by strengthening international law. This was a goal for which he worked untiringly all his life. He tought at the universities in Dijon and Paris, and delivered his last lecture at the age of 75, two days before he died. He was also the French Government's adviser in foreign policy and international law. Renault was a delegate to the international conferences on transport and communications and on the rights of artists in the 1880s. But it was at the peace conferences at the Hague in 1899 and that he really gained his reputation as a brilliant lawyer with good practical sense. Renault was especially eager to extend the Geneva Convention to apply also to war at sea. He also sought to have the rights and obligations of neutral states in wartime defined in more precise terms.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//renault/facts/ > 1 - [1908](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1908) > Klas Pontus Arnoldson > for their long time work for the cause of peace as politicians, peace society leaders, orators and authors > Sweden > Europe > (1844 - 1916) > ![Klas Pontus Arnoldson](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132153-1629706012/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Arnoldson.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Author and Peace ActivistNorway and Sweden were formally united from 1814 to 1905, but in 1895 the two countries were on the verge of war. Norway demanded equality within the union, whereas Sweden threatened to use force. At that point Arnoldson sent out his handbill demanding “Peace with Norway, whether the union sinks or swims”. For him, what counted most was peace: The Swedish and Norwegian “brother peoples” must never go to war with one another. Arnoldson strove for peace all his life. He opposed all use of arms, and supported arbitration and international law. He was a pioneer in the Swedish peace movement, with an intense faith in international cooperation. This should begin in the Nordic countries, and Norway, Sweden and Denmark should join together in a union of autonomous republics with a common foreign policy. This dream was shattered when Norway broke out of the union with Sweden in 1905. Arnoldson nevertheless spoke up for Norway's right to independence, and looked ahead: “the idea of Europe's United States may gradually prove stronger than the idea of Nordic unity”. The Peace Prize was a reward for efforts in connection with the conflict over the union, and a step towards the reconciliation of the two independent states.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//arnoldson/facts/ > Fredrik Bajer > for their long time work for the cause of peace as politicians, peace society leaders, orators and authors > Denmark > Europe > (1837 - 1922) > ![Fredrik Bajer](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132167-1629706016/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Bajer.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Soldier, Politician, Organizer and Peace ActivistThe son of a clergyman, Fredrik Bajer decided early in life to pursue a career as an officer. He fought in the Dano-German war in 1864, but left the forces the following year, disillusioned with military life. From then on, he devoted his life to the cause of peace. He was elected a member of the Danish national assembly, figured prominently in inter-parliamentary work, and has been given the credit for the establishment of the International Peace Bureau in 1891. Bajer believed that organizing the forces for peace was an important means of bringing peace about. He was a strong supporter of international arbitration. Bajer was moreover a republican, and maintained vigorously that the Nordic countries ought to be neutral and conduct a joint foreign policy. Together with his wife, Mathilde Bajer, he founded the Danish Women's Society. As Fredrik Bajer saw it, work for equal rights was also work for peace.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//bajer/facts/ > 1 - [1909](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1909) > Auguste Beernaert > for their prominent position in the international movement for peace and arbitration > Belgium > Europe > (1829 - 1912) > ![Auguste Beernaert](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132139-1629706009/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Beernaert.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Prime Minister and Inter-ParliamentarianAuguste Beernaert was one of Belgium's most skilful lawyers. In 1873 he became a member of the Government, and from 1884 to 1894 he was King Leopold II's Prime Minister. After resigning from the Government, however, he became opposed to the King because of the brutal policy pursued in the Congo, but he remained a member of parliament all his life. It was through his inter-parliamentary work and at the international peace conferences at the Hague in 1899 and 1907 that he became known as a friend of peace. At the Hague, among other assignments, he headed the commission dealing with the laws and customs of land warfare, and with regard to the question of neutrality he pleaded the cause of the small states. When the first case came up before the International Court at the Hague in 1902 (USA against Mexico), Beernaert acted for Mexico. Towards the end of his life, Beernaert endeavored to prevent aerial warfare. A few days before he died he submitted a proposal against such warfare.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//beernaert/facts/ > Paul Henri d'Estournelles de Constant > for their prominent position in the international movement for peace and arbitration > France > Europe > (1852 - 1924) > ![Paul Henri d'Estournelles de Constant](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132209-1629706026/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_constant.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Diplomat, Politician and InternationalistDespite his aristocratic title, d'Estournelles was a radical republican. He believed that the cultured peoples of Europe should join together in the united states of Europe. Good organization of the international community was the best guarantee of peace. d'Estournelles began his career as a diplomat, but was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1895; for the last twenty years of his life he was a Senator. d'Estournelles supported binding arbitration between states, and on a visit to the USA he persuaded President Theodore Roosevelt to make use of the International Court at the Hague. He also urged Andrew Carnegie to donate money to the Peace Palace. Before World War I he worked for reconciliation between Germany and France. In 1918 he wanted a just peace with Germany, and was critical of the Versailles Treaty which in his view was too harsh. He pinned high hopes on the new League of Nations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//balluet/facts/ > 1 - [1910](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1910) > Permanent International Peace Bureau > for acting as a link between the peace societies of the various countries, and helping them to organize the world rallies of the international peace movement > Switzerland > Europe > ![Permanent International Peace Bureau](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132202-1629706025/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_IPB.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The Heart and Brains of the Peace SocietiesAfter 1870, a popular peace movement grew up and spread in Europe and the USA. In a number of countries men and women of the bourgeoisie took initiatives to establish peace societies. They would work for the cause of peace in their local communities. They campaigned for disarmament and for the use of mediation and arbitration in the solution of international disputes. In due course a need was felt for an office that could coordinate and direct these activities. On the initiative of the Dane Fredrik Bajer (Peace Prize Laureate in 1908), the International Peace Bureau was opened in 1891, located in Berne, Switzerland. The Swiss Élie Ducommun (Peace Prize Laureate in 1902) was the Peace Bureau's first secretary-general. The Bureau published a journal and held annual peace congresses. In 2005 the IPB had over 170 member organizations. Its headquarters is in Geneva.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//peace-bureau/facts/ > 0 - [1911](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1911) > Tobias Asser > for his role as co-founder of the Institut de droit international, initiator of the Conferences on International Private Law (Conférences de Droit international privé) at the Hague, and pioneer in the field of international legal relations > the Netherlands > Europe > (1838 - 1913) > ![Tobias Asser](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132188-1629706022/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Asser.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The Hugo Grotius of his DayThe lawyer Tobias Asser was a co-founder in 1873 of the Institute of International Law, the first organization to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1904). Asser was an expert in international private law. At several conferences in the 1890s, he advocated that the world's states should enter into binding agreements on how private law disputes must be settled. This related for instance to matters concerning marriage, separation and divorce. His text-book in international private law was translated into several languages. Asser was also active at the international peace conferences at the Hague in 1899 and 1907, where he sought to extend and improve the Geneva Convention. But it was to his work in the field of private law that the greatest importance was attached when he was awarded the Peace Prize. Knowledge of the legal framework in other countries would promote peace. There were good reasons, then, for comparing Tobias Asser with his countryman Hugo Grotius, the founder of international law in 1600s.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//asser/facts/ > Alfred Fried > for his effort to expose and fight what he considers to be the main cause of war, namely, the anarchy in international relations > Austria > Europe > (1864 - 1921) > ![Alfred Fried](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132174-1629706018/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Fried.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Peace Philosopher, Publisher and PopularizerAn optimist where human development was concerned, Alfred H. Fried held that societies would gradually grow more peaceful. Politicians and friends of peace should work hard to organize the international community. That was why Fried was enthusiastic about the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. Fried moved to Germany and was a co-founder of the German Peace Society. But Fried's life's-work lay in publishing and writing. He collaborated for decades with the 1905 Peace Prize Laureate, the Austrian baroness Bertha von Suttner, and she was a frequent contributor to his periodicals Die Waffen Nieder! and Die Friedens-Warte. Fried himself wrote thousands of articles and published a number of works. His approach was to popularize the thoughts and opinions of experts in international law, and his goal was a new and peaceful organization of society.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//fried/facts/ > 1 - [1912](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1912) > Elihu Root > for bringing about better understanding between the countries of North and South America and initiating important arbitration agreements between the United States and other countries > USA > North America > (1845 - 1937) > ![Elihu Root](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132181-1629706020/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Root.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > From Secretary of War to the Carnegie Endowment for International PeaceElihu Root was the brilliant lawyer who became US Secretary of War and Secretary of State between 1901 and 1909. He subsequently became a Senator and the first president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Root was awarded the Peace Prize for having pursued the aim that conflicts between states must be resolved by arbitration. After World War I he participated in the development of the Permanent Court of International Justice at the Hague. As President Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of War, Root helped to bring Pacific and Latin American territories under US control. The Philippines, Cuba and Panama were occupied. Both Roosevelt and Root believed that the US was entitled to lead and govern people whom they believed to be uncivilized. As Secretary of State, Root sought to alleviate Latin American fears of an imperialistic USA by arranging peace conferences. This led to good relations with the international peace movement, and several former Laureates nominated Elihu Root for the Peace Prize.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//root/facts/ > 0 - [1913](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1913) > Henri La Fontaine > for his unparalleled contribution to the organization of peaceful internationalism > Belgium > Europe > (1854 - 1943) > ![Henri La Fontaine](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132195-1629706024/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_La%20Fontaine.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Socialist, Lawyer, ParliamentarianHenri La Fontaine was the first socialist to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He held a doctorate in law, and in the Belgian parliament took a special interest in social policy and foreign affairs. But La Fontaine's greatest work was as an activist in the international peace movement. He was a strong champion of internationalism. He set up an institute which collected documentation from all over the world on international matters. In 1910 he also organized a world conference for international organizations. Its purpose was to create “an intellectual parliament” for humanity. La Fontaine held high positions of trust in the peace movement. He was president of the International Peace Bureau from 1907 until his death. When he was awarded the Peace Prize in , he was the effective leader of the peace movement in Europe.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//fontaine/facts/ > 0 - [1917](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1917) > International Committee of the Red Cross > for the efforts to take care of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war and their families > Switzerland > Europe > ![International Committee of the Red Cross](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132216-1629706028/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_1944_1963_redcross.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Protecting and helping soldiers and civilians wounded in warThe International Committee of the Red Cross was founded in 1863 on the initiative of the Swiss Henry Dunant, Peace Prize Laureate in 1901. It consisted - and still consists - exclusively of Swiss nationals. In the following year, the first Geneva Convention was adopted, “for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field”. The organization's symbol, the red cross on a white background, was to protect both friend and enemy. In the years that followed, more and more states joined and set up national committees. The leadership exercised by the Swiss Red Cross committee won broad recognition, although it had no international mandate. In 1906 the Geneva Convention was extended to apply also to war at sea. When World War I broke out in 1914, the International Committee of the Red Cross faced a huge task. It not only upheld the principles of the Geneva Convention, but also undertook to protect the interests of prisoners of war.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//red-cross/facts/ > 0 - [1919](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1919) > Woodrow Wilson > for his role as founder of the League of Nations > USA > North America > (1856 - 1924) > ![Woodrow Wilson](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132237-1629706033/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_wilson.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Father of the League of NationsPresident Woodrow Wilson of the United States won the Peace Prize for as the leading architect behind the League of Nations. It was to ensure world peace after the slaughter of millions of people in the First World War. After the outbreak of war in 1914, it was Wilson's policy to keep the United States out. But Germany's unrestricted submarine offensive sank American ships, and in 1917 Wilson took the United States into the war. While severely critical of those at home who opposed the war, he presented his Fourteen Points program for peace. Wilson recommended national self-government for oppressed peoples, a conciliatory attitude to losers in the war, and a league of nations to ensure post-war peace. The peace negotiations in Paris were a disappointment to Wilson. Britain and France insisted that Germany must pay an enormous indemnity and accept the blame for the war. Subsequently the Senate refused to approve US membership of the new League of Nations. For this reason there was disagreement about Wilson in the Nobel Committee, until a majority decided to give him the Prize.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//wilson/facts/ > 0 - [1920](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1920) > Léon Bourgeois > for his longstanding contribution to the cause of peace and justice and his prominent role in the establishment of the League of Nations > France > Europe > (1851 - 1925) > ![Léon Bourgeois](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132279-1629706042/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Bourgeois.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Campaigner for a League of NationsLéon Bourgeois took part in the Franco-German war of 1870-71, which ended in the defeat of France. He trained as a lawyer and became Chief of Police in Paris. In that position, he helped to prevent a military coup by a general who wanted to launch a revanchist war against Germany. Bourgeois became politically active in the Republican Party. In 1895 he became Prime Minister, but resigned when he failed to gain a majority for a program to fight poverty. Bourgeois became involved in international peace work through the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907. In his view, conflicts must be resolved by arbitration and an international court. During World War I, Bourgeois drew up a proposal for a global organization that would secure peace. He wanted to give the organization greater supranational authority than US President Woodrow Wilson was willing to accept. The new League of Nations that emerged in 1919 was largely modeled on Wilson's ideas, but Bourgeois did see an international court established in the Hague.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//bourgeois/facts/ > 0 - [1921](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1921) > Hjalmar Branting > for their lifelong contributions to the cause of peace and organized internationalism > Sweden > Europe > (1860 - 1925) > ![Hjalmar Branting](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132223-1629706029/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Branting.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > With the Labor Movement for PeaceIn , Sweden's Prime Minister Hjalmar Branting shared the Peace Prize with the Norwegian secretary-general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Christian Lange. They were both staunch supporters of the new League of Nations and of international cooperation. In 1905 Branting had moreover pleaded Norway's cause to conservative Swedes who wanted to keep Norway in its union with Sweden by force. Branting had an upper-middle-class Stockholm background. As a student he became politically radical. He became a journalist, and in 1889 helped to found Sweden's Social Democratic party. Branting became a leading figure in the struggle for equal rights and social justice in Sweden, a struggle to be conducted by peaceful means, not revolution. In 1920 Branting became Prime Minister, and at the same time a delegate to the new League of Nations in Geneva. He accepted the League resolution that the Åland Islands in the Baltic should fall to Finland rather than Sweden. In 1922 Branting became a member of the Council of the League of Nations and arbitrated in many international disputes.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//branting/facts/ > Christian Lange > for their lifelong contributions to the cause of peace and organized internationalism > Norway > Europe > (1869 - 1938) > ![Christian Lange](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132230-1629706031/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Lange.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Champion of InternationalismIn , the Norwegian Christian Lange shared the Peace Prize with the Swede Hjalmar Branting. They both wanted to strengthen the new world organization the League of Nations. Lange qualified as a high school teacher. Owing to his knowledge of history and skills in English and French, he was appointed secretary and advisor to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. He helped establishing the Nobel Institute in Oslo, and was also active on the Norwegian side when the union between Norway and Sweden was peacefully dissolved in 1905. In 1909, Lange became secretary-general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He built up the organization and managed to hold it together during World War I. In 1919 Lange got a doctorate on the history of internationalism, and was called in as an expert to the first meeting of the League of Nations in 1920. Later he was for many years a Norwegian delegate to the League, where he warned against the failure of the democratic great powers to stand up firmly to the aggressive policies of Japan, Italy and Germany. Lange became a member of the Nobel Committee in 1934.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//lange/facts/ > 1 - [1922](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1922) > Fridtjof Nansen > for his leading role in the repatriation of prisoners of war, in international relief work and as the League of Nations' High Commissioner for refugees > Norway > Europe > (1861 - 1930) > ![Fridtjof Nansen](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132251-1629706037/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Nansen.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Polar Explorer and High Commissioner for RefugeesIn , the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen became the first High Commissioner for Refugees appointed by the League of Nations. After the First World War, he was in charge of the exchanges of 400,000 prisoners of war between Russia, Germany, and the former Austria-Hungary. Nansen also engaged in humanitarian relief work in 1921, during the severe famine in the Soviet Union. His work on behalf of prisoners of war and starving people earned him the Peace Prize. Nansen was a scientist, polar hero, political activist and diplomat. He got a PhD in zoology in 1888. In the same year, he was the first to cross Greenland's inland ice. He subsequently failed to reach the North Pole, but became internationally famous nevertheless. Nansen was a nationalist activist when Norway broke out of its union with Sweden in 1905. After , the League of Nations provided “Nansen passports” to stateless refugees to enable them to cross national borders. Nansen was himself made responsible for separating Greeks and Turks after the war between the two countries. In the last years of his life, he took up the Armenian cause.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//nansen/facts/ > 0 - [1925](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1925) > Sir Austen Chamberlain > for his crucial role in bringing about the Locarno Treaty > United Kingdom > Europe > (1863 - 1937) > ![Sir Austen Chamberlain](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132349-1629706053/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Chamberlain.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For Reconciliation between Germany and FranceAusten Chamberlain shared the Peace Prize for with the American Charles Dawes. They received it in 1926, together with the Laureates for that year, the Frenchman Aristide Briand and the German Gustav Stresemann. The four Prizes were awarded for work aimed at ensuring peace between the arch-rivals Germany and France. Austen Chamberlain grew up in a family of well-known British politicians. His father, Joseph, was a member of several Governments and an eager “empire builder”. His half-brother, Neville, was Prime Minister when Hitler started World War II in 1939. Austen Chamberlain studied in France and Germany before entering politics in the Conservative Party. He joined the Government in World War I, and took part in the peace negotiations at Versailles in 1919. Chamberlain became Foreign Secretary in 1924, and gave Britain's support when the German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann initiated negotiations in the Swiss town of Locarno aimed at Franco-German reconciliation.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//chamberlain/facts/ > Charles G. Dawes > for his crucial role in bringing about the Dawes Plan > USA > North America > (1865 - 1951) > ![Charles G. Dawes](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132397-1629706061/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Dawes.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The Dawes Plan for DétenteCharles Dawes received the Peace Prize for for having contributed to reducing the tension between Germany and France after the First World War. Dawes' background was as a lawyer and businessman. He came into politics when he headed the presidential election campaign of the Republican candidate William McKinley in 1896. McKinley won but was shot in 1901, and Dawes returned to business life. Dawes did not return to public life until USA entered World War I in 1917. He was sent to Europe as an officer, and was put in charge of all supplies to the Allies at the front. After the war, the Germans resented France's occupation of parts of the country, intended to force them to pay reparations. Tension between the two countries rose. Dawes headed an international committee set up to assess Germany's situation. In 1924, the committee presented the Dawes Plan. Germany was granted American loans enabling it to pay indemnity. In return, France ceased its occupation.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//dawes/facts/ > 1 - [1926](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1926) > Aristide Briand > for their crucial role in bringing about the Locarno Treaty > France > Europe > (1862 - 1932) > ![Aristide Briand](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132244-1629706035/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Briand.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For Franco-German ReconciliationThe French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand shared the Peace Prize for with the German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann. They were awarded the Prize for reconciliation between Germany and France after World War I. Aristide Briand pursued a career in the French Socialist Party after having read law at the Sorbonne. He entered the government in 1906 and spearheaded the devolution of France's state church. From 1909 on, he was Prime Minister for various periods, including during the war. The war convinced Briand that a peace treaty must not lay the foundations for a revanchist war. He accordingly opposed the harsh treatment meted out to Germany after the war. Briand was also critical of the French occupation of parts of Germany as a means of obtaining war indemnity. In 1925 he signed a reconciliation agreement with Germany in the Swiss town of Locarno. Briand later made unsuccessful attempts to persuade the USA to guarantee France's security.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//briand/facts/ > Gustav Stresemann > for their crucial role in bringing about the Locarno Treaty > Germany > Europe > (1878 - 1929) > ![Gustav Stresemann](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132258-1629706038/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Stresemann.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For Franco-German ReconciliationThe German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann shared the Peace Prize for with the French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand. They were honored for having signed an agreement of reconciliation between their two countries in the Swiss town of Locarno in 1925. Before entering politics and becoming Foreign Minister, Stresemann had studied literature, history and economics and worked in business. In 1907 he was elected to the German Reichstag. In the field of foreign policy, he stood out as an eager imperialist who demanded “a place in the sun” for Germany. During World War I, he supported Germany's annexation of territories from neighboring countries. But with the war going badly, he believed that Germany should sue for peace. He was shocked at the harsh terms accorded Germany at the peace negotiations in 1919, but opposed the idea that Germany should sabotage the peace treaty. Stresemann was Prime Minister for a short time in 1923, before as Foreign Minister initiating reconciliation with France.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//stresemann/facts/ > 1 - [1927](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1927) > Ferdinand Buisson > for their contribution to the emergence in France and Germany of a public opinion which favours peaceful international cooperation > France > Europe > (1841 - 1932) > ![Ferdinand Buisson](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132265-1629706040/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Buisson.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For Human Rights and Franco-German ReconciliationFerdinand Buisson grew up under the nineteenth-century dictatorship of Emperor Napoleon III. He studied philosophy and pedagogy, and moved to Switzerland so as to be able to work, think, and write freely. All his life he was committed to the advancement of democracy and human rights. After the Franco-German war of 1870-71 and the Emperor's fall, Buisson returned to France, where he became professor of pedagogy at the Sorbonne. He took a stand against the anti-Semitism in French society, and in 1902 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Radical Socialists. There he also became a spokesman for women's suffrage. In World War I, Buisson denounced Germany as the aggressor, but was strongly opposed to the harsh treatment to which it was subjected after the war. He feared it would lay the foundations for a revanchist war on Germany's part, and arranged meetings aimed at Franco-German reconciliation. This work gained him the Peace Prize together with the German Ludwig Quidde.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//buisson/facts/ > Ludwig Quidde > for their contribution to the emergence in France and Germany of a public opinion which favours peaceful international cooperation > Germany > Europe > (1858 - 1941) > ![Ludwig Quidde](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132272-1629706041/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Quidde.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Opposed German War PolicyLudwig Quidde was awarded the Peace Prize in for his lifelong work in the cause of peace. He shared the Prize with the Frenchman Ferdinand Buisson. Quidde had a doctorate in history, but received no official appointments because of his opposition to the German Kaiser. He became a member of the International Peace Bureau, and endeavored to reduce the hostility between Germany and France after the Franco-German war in 1870-71. In 1907 he was elected to the German Reichstag, and later became president of the German Peace Society. During World War I he spoke against Germany's annexation of territory from neighboring countries, and as a result he was placed under political surveillance. Quidde was disappointed at the harsh treatment of Germany after the war, but continued to work against rearmament and German revanchism. When Hitler came to power, he fled to Switzerland, where he lived for the rest of his life.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//quidde/facts/ > 1 - [1929](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1929) > Frank B. Kellogg > for his crucial role in bringing about the Briand-Kellogg Pact > USA > North America > (1856 - 1937) > ![Frank B. Kellogg](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132293-1629706045/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Kellogg.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > A Plan for World PeaceThe US Secretary of State Frank Kellogg was awarded the Peace Prize for having been one of the initiators of the Briand-Kellogg Pact of 1928. Almost all the world's states signed this pact, which prohibited wars of aggression. The original initiative came from the French Foreign Minister and Peace Prize Laureate Aristide Briand. He had sought a Franco-American agreement which would keep France secure from German revanchism after Germany's defeat in World War I. The United States was not interested, so Kellogg proposed a more extensive but looser pact. In addition, he demanded exceptions, to prevent harm to US interests on the American continent. This led to disagreement in the Nobel Committee, until a majority decided to award Kellogg the Peace Prize. Beginning in modest circumstances, Frank Kellogg achieved wealth as a star lawyer. In 1917 he was elected to the Senate for the Republicans. After World War I he was US Ambassador to Great Britain until he was appointed Secretary of State.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//kellogg/facts/ > 0 - [1930](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1930) > Nathan Söderblom > for promoting Christian unity and helping create 'that new attitude of mind which is necessary if peace between nations is to become reality' > Sweden > Europe > (1866 - 1931) > ![Nathan Söderblom](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132286-1629706044/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_S%C3%B6derblom.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Cooperation between Christian Church Communities Brings PeaceThe Swedish bishop Nathan Söderblom was the first clergyman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. As a student he was active in the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), and in the international Christian student movement. Söderblom obtained a doctorate at the Sorbonne and became a professor of theology at the University of Uppsala. In 1914 he was appointed archbishop. As a church leader, he wanted most passionately to create a common Christian platform for peace, and this was the work for which he was awarded the Peace Prize. Söderblom was the prime mover behind the Universal Conference on Life and Work in Stockholm in 1925, a church meeting which declared its support for efforts to bring about an international system of justice and arbitration, as well as for the League of Nations. Since the Church had a supranational call, all Christian church communities were called on to fight unhealthy nationalism, racism, militarism and the oppression of minorities. At the same time, Jesus' message of love must be disseminated from pulpits, in newspapers, and in school. By such means one would create a powerful body of Christian opinion across national borders in favor of peace.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//soderblom/facts/ > 0 - [1931](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1931) > Jane Addams > for their assiduous effort to revive the ideal of peace and to rekindle the spirit of peace in their own nation and in the whole of mankind > USA > North America > (1860 - 1935) > ![Jane Addams](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132321-1629706049/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_addams.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Women's International League for Peace and FreedomJane Addams was the second woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She founded the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915, and worked for many years to get the great powers to disarm and conclude peace agreements. In the USA, Jane Addams worked to help the poor and to stop the use of children as industrial laborers. She ran Hull House in Chicago, a center which helped immigrants in particular. During World War I, she chaired a women's conference for peace held in the Hague in the Netherlands, and tried in vain to get President Woodrow Wilson of the USA to mediate peace between the warring countries. When the USA entered the war instead, Jane Addams spoke out loudly against this. She was consequently stamped a dangerous radical and a danger to US security. Addams was critical of the peace treaty that was forced on Germany in 1919, maintaining that it was so humiliating that it would lead to a German war of revenge. At the end of her life, Jane Addams was honored by the American government for her efforts for peace.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//addams/facts/ > Nicholas Murray Butler > for their assiduous effort to revive the ideal of peace and to rekindle the spirit of peace in their own nation and in the whole of mankind > USA > North America > (1862 - 1947) > ![Nicholas Murray Butler](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132300-1629706046/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Butler.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Top-Flight Peace ActivistNicholas Butler shared the Peace Prize for with Jane Addams. He received it for his efforts to strengthen international law and the International Court at the Hague. Butler studied both in France and in Germany. He became a friend of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and later of President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1902 he became President of Columbia University. Butler participated in peace conferences and established contacts with several Peace Prize Laureates. During World War I he broke off his connections with Germany and was a warm supporter of United States entry into the war. In 1919 he opposed US entry into the new League of Nations, fearing that America's hands would be tied at the expense of national interests. In 1925, Butler became President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In his opinion, peace could only be achieved by an elite. Butler had close contacts with Europe's leading statesmen, and supported the French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand, enabling the signing of the Briand-Kellogg Pact forbidding wars of aggression in 1928.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//butler/facts/ > 1 - [1933](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1933) > Sir Norman Angell > for having exposed by his pen the illusion of war and presented a convincing plea for international cooperation and peace > United Kingdom > Europe > (1872 - 1967) > ![Sir Norman Angell](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132307-1629706047/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Angell.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Information and Education Bring PeaceThe British journalist and author Norman Angell is the only person to have been awarded the Peace Prize for publishing a book. In 1910 he wrote The Great Illusion, of which over two million copies were sold and which was translated into 25 languages. Angell analyzed the nature of war, concluding that the danger of mutual destruction of both aggressors and defenders had made armed conflict unprofitable. He believed in peaceful development, because the expansion of free trade would create greater interdependence between states and because improved education would make war irrational and uncivilized. Angell's peace concept became known as “angellism” and was disseminated through a network of societies for peace. The outbreak in August 1914 of World War I appeared to refute his main thesis, however. When in the autumn of 1934 the Nobel Committee awarded Angell the Prize that had been reserved from , he was praised for his work as educator and defender of the League of Nations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//angell/facts/ > 0 - [1934](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1934) > Arthur Henderson > for his untiring struggle and his courageous efforts as Chairman of the League of Nations Disarmament Conference 1931-34 > United Kingdom > Europe > (1863 - 1935) > ![Arthur Henderson](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132314-1629706048/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Henderson.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Peace through DisarmamentIn contrast to the vast majority of the Peace Prize Laureates before him, the winner in had neither upper-class origins nor university training. Arthur Henderson grew up in a working-class family in the Scottish city of Glasgow. Poverty made it impossible for him to complete elementary school, but thanks to participation in trade unions and work in Christian congregations, he qualified himself for an impressive career in politics. He was one of the founders of the British Labour Party, and became Party Secretary, chairman of the party's Executive Committee, and a Member of Parliament. In the inter-war years he was both Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary. Henderson was a warm supporter of the League of Nations, and one of the principal architects behind the organization's disarmament conference. He was elected to chair the conference, and managed to keep the negotiations going despite opposition from the great powers and from his own government.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//henderson/facts/ > 0 - [1935](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1935) > Carl von Ossietzky > for his burning love for freedom of thought and expression and his valuable contribution to the cause of peace > Germany > Europe > (1889 - 1938) > ![Carl von Ossietzky](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132328-1629706050/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_von%20Ossietsky.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Anti-Nazi and Concentration Camp PrisonerThe journalist and socialist Carl von Ossietzky was one of the foremost critics of political developments in Germany in the inter-war years. He revealed that the German authorities were secretly engaging in rearmament contrary to the Versailles Treaty. For this he was found guilty of treason and imprisoned. After the seizure of power by the Nazis in 1933 he was arrested again and sent to a concentration camp. An international campaign was organized to have Ossietzky released. As one step in this campaign, he was nominated for the Peace Prize. It attracted attention that the Norwegian Royal Family stayed away from the award ceremony in December 1936, probably prompted by the Government, which feared German reactions. Hitler reacted to the news of Ossietzky's Peace Prize with fury, and prohibited all Germans from receiving the Nobel Prize. The seriously ill Laureate was refused permission to leave for Norway to accept the distinction. He died in a prison hospital in May 1938.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//ossietzky/facts/ > 0 - [1936](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1936) > Carlos Saavedra Lamas > for his role as father of the Argentine Antiwar Pact of 1933, which he also used as a means to mediate peace between Paraguay and Bolivia in 1935 > Argentina > South America > (1878 - 1959) > ![Carlos Saavedra Lamas](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132404-1629706063/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Saavedra%20Lamas.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Latin America's First Peace Prize LaureateThe first Peace Prize Laureate from a country outside Western Europe and the United States was the Argentine Carlos Saavedra Lamas. He came of landed gentry and got a PhD in law before becoming professor of constitutional law. At the age of thirty he was elected as a conservative representative to the legislative assembly, and after serving as both Minister of Justice and Minister of Education he took over the post of Foreign Minister in 1932. When Argentina joined the League of Nations in 1932, Saavedra Lamas deserved much of the credit, and he played a leading role in the organization's condemnation of Italy's war on Ethiopia in . He made important contributions to the peace negotiations between Paraguay and Bolivia after the so-called “Chaco war” in the 1930s. He also won praise for his work on South America's anti-war pact, which by had been signed by 31 states altogether. The pact promoted the principle under international law of condemning all wars of aggression.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//lamas/facts/ > 0 - [1937](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1937) > Robert Cecil, Viscount Cecil of Chelwood > for his tireless effort in support of the League of Nations, disarmament and peace > United Kingdom > Europe > (1864 - 1958) > ![Robert Cecil, Viscount Cecil of Chelwood](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132335-1629706052/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Cecil%20of%20Chelwood.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Foremost Defender of the League of NationsThe British politician, diplomat and peace activist Lord Robert Cecil came of an aristocratic family from which had sprung as many as four prime ministers. After reading law at Oxford, he worked for a number of years as a lawyer, before being elected to Parliament in 1906 as a Conservative. During World War I he was Minister of Blockade, and at the Versailles peace conference he played a leading part in the formulation of the rules of the League of Nations. In 1919 he participated in the founding of the League of Nations Union (LNU), which in the inter-war years became Britain's most important extra-parliamentary pressure group in the field of foreign policy. In Lord Cecil spearheaded a nationwide signature campaign demanding that the League of Nations adopt economic and military penal sanctions against violators of the peace. He was also among the leaders of the International Peace Campaign (IPC), which worked for disarmament and collective security through the League of Nations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//chelwood/facts/ > 0 - [1938](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1938) > Nansen International Office for Refugees > for having carried on the work of Fridtjof Nansen to the benefit of refugees across Europe > Switzerland > Europe > ![Nansen International Office for Refugees](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132342-1629706053/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_1973_2015.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Protecting the interests of refugeesThe Nansen Office was set up in 1930 in accordance with a League of Nations resolution to keep up the relief work that had been launched by Fridtjof Nansen, the first high commissioner for refugees. Early in the 1930s, the Office was busy in helping Armenians who had been driven out of Turkey, and it was an important driving force behind the drawing up of the League of Nations Refugee Convention. Later in the 1930s, the organization cared mainly for refugees located in Central and South-eastern Europe, France, Syria and China. The Office ran refugee camps, issued passports to the stateless (Nansen passports), and helped to provide visas, jobs, medicine and food. The Nansen Office was closed in , but its activities have been carried on by a new Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees which has its seat in London.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//nansen/facts/ > 0 - [1944](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1944) > International Committee of the Red Cross > for the great work it has performed during the war on behalf of humanity > Switzerland > Europe > ![International Committee of the Red Cross](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132216-1629706028/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/1917__1963_redcross.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The staunchest supporter of prisoners of warWhen World War II ended, the International Committee of the Red Cross received the Nobel Prize for Peace for the second time. The main reason given was its work on behalf of prisoners of war. In accordance with the Geneva Convention of 1929, the Red Cross had during the war years established contacts between prisoners of war and their families, sent parcels of clothes, medicine and food, inspected prison camps, and organized prisoner exchanges. The Nobel Committee was not aware that the Red Cross was fully informed of the Nazi extermination of Jews. This was not known until the 1980s. It then emerged that in 1942 the organization had adopted a resolution to keep silent. It feared that publication of the atrocities might trigger reprisals against prisoners of war or provoke military action against neutral Switzerland. It was also afraid that the cooperation between the ICRC and the Swiss government might collapse. The Red Cross has since expressed regret for this suppression of the facts.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//red-cross/facts/ > 0 - [1945](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1945) > Cordell Hull > for his indefatigable work for international understanding and his pivotal role in establishing the United Nations > USA > North America > (1871 - 1955) > ![Cordell Hull](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132356-1629706054/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Hull.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Father of the United NationsIn , the year of Norway's liberation from Nazi-German occupation, the Nobel Committee wished to show its support for the establishment of the new world organization, the United Nations. This was done by awarding the Peace Prize to Cordell Hull, the man known as the father of the United Nations. The decision has a parallel in 1920, when President Woodrow Wilson received the same distinction as the chief architect behind the League of Nations. The lawyer and Democrat from Tennessee was US Secretary of State from 1933 to 1944. Hull was nominated for the Peace Prize several times in the second half of the 1930s for having conducted a policy of fraternization with Latin America and for having negotiated free trade agreements with a number of states. During World War II he played a prominent part in the planning of the United Nations, which replaced the League of Nations in .https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//hull/facts/ > 0 - [1946](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1946) > Emily Greene Balch > for her lifelong work for the cause of peace > USA > North America > (1867 - 1961) > ![Emily Greene Balch](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132370-1629706057/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Balch.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > A Radical Champion of PeaceWhen Emily Greene Balch was given the Peace Prize in for her lifelong work for disarmament and peace, she received no congratulations from the US government. The official US had long regarded her as a dangerous radical. The sociologist Balch studied the living conditions of workers, immigrants, minorities and women, and this resulted in her declaring herself a socialist as early as in 1906. During World War I she worked with the 1931 Peace Prize Laureate Jane Addams to persuade the heads of state of neutral countries to intervene to stop the war. When the US entered the war, the anti-war campaigners Addams and Balch were stamped as dangerous dissidents. In 1935 Emily Greene Balch became leader of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She warned against fascism, and criticised the western democracies for not attempting to stop Hitler's and Mussolini's aggressive policies.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//balch/facts/ > John R. Mott > for his contribution to the creation of a peace-promoting religious brotherhood across national boundaries > USA > North America > (1865 - 1955) > ![John R. Mott](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132363-1629706056/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Mott.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Friendship among Christians Brings PeaceThe Peace Prize for was awarded to the head of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), the American John Raleigh Mott, who according to the Nobel Committee had contributed to the creation of a peace-promoting religious brotherhood across national boundaries. Mott grew up in a settler family in Iowa, strongly influenced by Puritan ideals, and took a bachelor's degree in history at Cornell University. As a student Mott received a religious call to spread the Gospel, after which he devoted most of his life to the YMCA, to missionary activities, and ecumenical work. As general-secretary of the International Committee of the YMCA and president of YMCA's World Committee, Mott sought to advance understanding and reconciliation. He organized youth exchanges, set up study groups, and arranged international youth camps. Mott was at the same time a leading figure in the field of international Christian student and missionary cooperation, and took part during both World Wars in relief work for prisoners of war. He criticised the oppression of colonial peoples and was a pioneer in the struggle against racial discrimination.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//mott/facts/ > 1 - [1947](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1947) > Friends Service Council > for their pioneering work in the international peace movement and compassionate effort to relieve human suffering, thereby promoting the fraternity between nations > United Kingdom > Europe > ![Friends Service Council](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132383-1629706058/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_FSC.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > “Children of Light”On the occasion of the tercentenary in of the foundation of the Christian community the Quakers, the Nobel Committee resolved to award the Peace Prize to the congregation's two aid organizations. One was The Friends Service Council, which had been established in 1927 to carry out the missionary and aid work of the British Quakers. Its activities were founded in ancient traditions. In accordance with the belief that God's goodness shows itself in good deeds, the Quakers had for a long time been engaged in providing aid to the poor and sick. They regarded social injustice and intolerance as important causes of war, and spearheaded the struggles against slavery, for social reforms, and for women's rights. The Quakers opposed the use of arms and in the early 1800s took part in the foundation of the first peace societies. In both World Wars they took part in humanitarian aid projects for military and civilian war victims. The prizes marked the Nobel Committee's recognition both of pioneering work in the international peace movement and of humanitarian work carried out without regard for race or nationality.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//friends-council/facts/ > American Friends Service Committee > for their pioneering work in the international peace movement and compassionate effort to relieve human suffering, thereby promoting the fraternity between nations > USA > North America > ![American Friends Service Committee](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132376-1629706058/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_am_friends_service_committee.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The Goodness of God Is Demonstrated in Brotherly LoveThe second organization to receive the divided Peace Prize for was The American Friends Service Committee. It was founded in 1917, when the United States was drawn into World War I. Like their British co-religionists, the American Quakers sought to demonstrate God's love for man by doing good deeds. Having appealed to the Government to be allowed to undertake humanitarian work as an alternative to war service, they were given the opportunity to assist in the rebuilding of France. The Quakers set up provisional houses, provided livestock and seed corn, and were very active in their efforts to help the sick and pregnant. After the war they organized impressive aid projects in Germany and the Soviet Union, where there was great suffering from hunger and need. In the 1930s, American Quakers worked hard on behalf of Jewish refugees, and cared for victims on both sides in the Spanish civil war. During World War II they assisted the Japanese-Americans who were interned after the attack on Pearl Harbor. When peace came, they cared in particular for slave workers and prisoners of war in war-torn regions.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//friends-committee/facts/ > 1 - [1949](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1949) > Lord Boyd Orr > for his lifelong effort to conquer hunger and want, thereby helping to remove a major cause of military conflict and war > United Kingdom > Europe > (1880 - 1971) > ![Lord Boyd Orr](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132411-1629706064/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Boyd%20Orr.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Father of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)The Scottish physician and biologist John Boyd Orr emerged in the inter-war years as one of Britain's leading experts on nutrition. He maintained that many Britons were malnourished because their incomes were too low. Boyd Orr participated in the efforts in the League of Nations to achieve an international policy on nutrition. During the Second World War, he proposed the idea of a “world food plan” to President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the USA. In 1945 he was elected Director-General of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), the first of the specialized organizations established under the United Nations. Food and prosperity for all people on earth led to peace, Boyd Orr argued. Boyd Orr was an ardent adherent of world organization as a means of securing peace, and argued for a world government ruling according to rules of international law. The nations of the world were now so dependent on each other that they had to give up some of their sovereignty. Boyd Orr was elevated to the peerage for his national and international commitment.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//orr/facts/ > 0 - [1950](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1950) > Ralph Bunche > for his work as mediator in Palestine in 1948-1949 > USA > North America > (1904 - 1971) > ![Ralph Bunche](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132390-1629706060/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Bunche.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Peace Negotiator in the Middle EastRalph Bunche was the first African American to be awarded the Peace Prize. He received it for having arranged a cease-fire between Israelis and Arabs during the war which followed the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Ralph Bunche was a social science graduate and before World War II studied colonial policy in West Africa. He joined the staff of the Swedish social scientist Gunnar Myrdal, who was studying racial segregation in the USA. In World War II, Bunche became the first Afro-American to hold a top job in the State Department. In 1946, Ralph Bunche went into UN service, and in the following year Secretary-General Trygve Lie sent him to the Middle East to help to devise a plan for dividing Palestine between Arabs and Jews. The Arabs rejected the UN resolution concerning a Jewish state, and went to war on Israel. When the chief UN negotiator Folke Bernadotte was murdered by Jewish extremists in the autumn of 1948, Ralph Bunche had to replace him. In the following year he succeeded in bringing about a cease-fire, after tough negotiations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//bunche/facts/ > 0 - [1951](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1951) > Léon Jouhaux > for having devoted his life to the fight against war through the promotion of social justice and brotherhood among men and nations > France > Europe > (1879 - 1954) > ![Léon Jouhaux](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132418-1629706066/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Jouhaux.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Social Justice Leads to PeaceThe winner of the Peace Prize for , Léon Jouhaux, grew up in a radical environment in a Paris suburb. His father, who worked in a match factory, suffered injuries from phosphorus quite early in life, becoming unfit for employment and unable to support the family. That experience made Léon an ardent trade unionist and founder and leader of the national French labor organization, the C.G.T. (Confédération Générale du Travail). In the inter-war years, Jouhaux took part in the disarmament negotiations at the League of Nations, and figured prominently in the planning of social reform in France. In 1945, when he returned home after being a German PoW, Jouhaux lost the struggle with the Communists for control of the CGT, and in 1947 he took part in the foundation of a new anti-Communist trades union organization. The Peace Prize was viewed by contemporary commentators as a friendly gesture from the Nobel Committee's Social Democrat majority, but the Committee placed its emphasis on Jouhaux's work for social equality and Franco-German reconciliation.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//jouhaux/facts/ > 0 - [1952](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1952) > Albert Schweitzer > for his altruism, reverence for life, and tireless humanitarian work which has helped making the idea of brotherhood between men and nations a living one > France > Europe > (1875 - 1965) > ![Albert Schweitzer](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132432-1629706070/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Schweitzer.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Doctor, Missionary, Philosopher and MusicianThe expression “reverence for life” is the key to Albert Schweitzer's personal philosophy. No person must ever harm or destroy life unless absolutely necessary. This attitude permeated everything he did. Schweitzer was born in Alsace in the then German Empire. He studied theology and became a priest, but that was not enough. He wanted to alleviate suffering, and accordingly studied medicine. Together with his wife, who was a nurse, he built and ran a hospital at the mission station Lambarene in Gabon, a French colony at the time. This effort became an example to others. In 1957, Schweitzer spoke on the radio to people all over the world. The respect of the Nobel Prize Laureate for all life made him issue his warning against nuclear tests and the dangers from radioactive fall-out. Albert Schweitzer was also a gifted musician and interpreter of Bach. He gave numerous organ concerts in Europe to finance the hospital in Africa.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//schweitzer/facts/ > 0 - [1953](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1953) > George C. Marshall > for proposing and supervising the plan for the economic recovery of Europe > USA > North America > (1880 - 1959) > ![George C. Marshall](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132425-1629706068/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Marshall.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The Marshall Plan for PeaceGeorge Marshall won the Peace Prize for a plan aimed at the economic recovery of Western Europe after World War II. Marshall began his military career in the American forces of occupation in the Philippines in 1902. During World War I he trained American troops in Europe. In the inter-war years he served for a number of years in China, until President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him Chief of Staff in 1939. When the United States entered the war against Japan and Germany in 1941, Marshall was given the main responsibility for planning the US conduct of the war. He was the brains behind the successful invasion of Normandy in 1944, and he gave the orders to use atomic bombs on Japan after President Harry Truman had given the go-ahead. Truman appointed Marshall Secretary of State in 1947, and between them they planned the economic support for Europe that was to secure stability and prevent the spread of Communism. After fifty years of public service, Marshall wound up his career as Secretary of Defense in 1951.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//marshall/facts/ > 0 - [1954](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1954) > Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees > for its efforts to heal the wounds of war by providing help and protection to refugees all over the world > Switzerland > Europe > ![Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132474-1629706079/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_1981_unhcr.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The first UN organisation to be awarded the Nobel Prize for PeaceThe prize to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) followed in the tradition of rewarding humanitarian work in the spirit of Fridtjof Nansen. A second purpose was to show support for the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. At the same time, the Nobel Committee wanted to draw the world's attention to the fact that international aid work for refugees was in danger of a financial crisis, because UN member countries had not granted enough funding for the purpose. The Peace Prize was thus an appeal to all the world's governments to give more financial support to a vulnerable group. In the first half of the 1950s, the highest numbers of refugees were to be found in Western Europe and the Middle East, and the UNHCR concentrated its aid on three kinds of measure: voluntary repatriation to one's country of origin, emigration, or permanent residence in the countries where the refugees were at the time.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//refugees/facts/ > 0 - [1957](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1957) > Lester Bowles Pearson > for his crucial contribution to the deployment of a United Nations Emergency Force in the wake of the Suez Crisis > Canada > North America > (1897 - 1972) > ![Lester Bowles Pearson](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132439-1629706071/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Pearson.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Father of the United Nations ForcesIn 1956, Great Britain, France and Israel launched an attack on Egypt aimed at removing President Nasser. The United States had not been informed, and the Soviet Union threatened to use atomic weapons against the assailants. The “Suez Crisis” found its solution when the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester Pearson, who had served as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1952, won support for sending a United Nations Emergency Force to the region to separate the warring parties. This gained him the Peace Prize for . Lester Pearson was a historian. In the inter-war years he was employed in Canada's Department of External Affairs. He was sent to Europe, and witnessed both the breakdown of the League of Nations and the outbreak of World War II. During the war he was stationed in Washington, where he worked on preparations for the founding of the United Nations. Many wanted him to be the first Secretary-General, but the Soviet Union was opposed. Instead, Pearson headed the UN committee that recommended the division of Palestine into a Jewish part and an Arab part. In 1948, Lester Pearson became Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs, and he ended his career as Prime Minister in the 1960s.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//pearson/facts/ > 0 - [1958](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1958) > Georges Pire > for his efforts to help refugees to leave their camps and return to a life of freedom and dignity > Belgium > Europe > (1910 - 1969) > ![Georges Pire](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132446-1629706073/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Pire.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Friend of Peace and EuropeanThe Belgian Dominican priest Georges Pire was quick to become involved in humanitarian work. In the late 1930s, he founded an aid organization for poor families, and during World War II he took part as an army chaplain in the anti-German resistance movement. The Nobel Committee focused especially on Pire's aid to European refugees. Having in 1949 learned of the miserable conditions in Austrian refugee camps, he decided to come to their rescue. Pire organized a network of sponsors who supplied food, clothes and medicine. Gifts enabled him to build a number of homes for the aged. In the course of the 1950s, he set up several European Villages of small houses for refugees, and in 1957 he founded an organization which undertook development projects in other parts of the world. One of Pire's principal motives was to serve the cause of the European community through humanitarian work; but the Nobel Committee attached more importance to his efforts to “build a bridge across the waves from colonialism, anti-colonialism, and racial conflict”.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//pire/facts/ > 0 - [1959](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1959) > Philip Noel-Baker > for his longstanding contribution to the cause of disarmament and peace > United Kingdom > Europe > (1889 - 1982) > ![Philip Noel-Baker](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132453-1629706075/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Noel-Baker.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > With Disarmament as his LeitmotifIn 1907, Philip Noel-Baker took part in the international peace conference in the Hague. There the great powers refused to enter into agreements concerning disarmament and arbitration. World War I broke out a few years later, and Noel-Baker was convinced that the private armaments industry bore much of the responsibility for the outbreak of war and the bloodbath that followed. The struggle for disarmament became a leitmotif for him for the rest of his life, and led to his being awarded the Peace Prize in . Noel-Baker read history and law at Cambridge. He participated in World War I as a volunteer medical orderly. After the war he worked at the League of Nations, employment which brought him into close cooperation with such Peace Prize Laureates as Fridtjof Nansen, Normann Angell and Lord Cecil. During World War II he was a Minister in Winston Churchill's coalition Government, and after the war he became Foreign Minister in Clement Attlee's Labour Government. Noel-Baker helped to draw up the United Nations Charter, and for the rest of his life he engaged in intense efforts to prevent nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//noel-baker/facts/ > 0 - [1960](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1960) > Albert Lutuli > for his non-violent struggle against apartheid > South Africa > Africa > (1898 - 1967) > ![Albert Luthuli](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132460-1629706076/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Lutuli.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Africa's First Peace Prize LaureateTwenty-five years after the award of the 1936 Peace Prize to concentration-camp prisoner Carl von Ossietzky, the Nobel Committee for the second time chose a prize-winner who was being persecuted by his own authorities. The South African chief, teacher and trade unionist Albert Lutuli was elected president of the African National Congress (ANC) liberation movement in 1952. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence, he became the spokesman of a campaign of civil disobedience directed against South Africa's policy of racial segregation, and spearheaded several demonstrations and strikes against the white minority government. Together with other opponents of racial segregation, Lutuli was arrested and persecuted, and following the massacre of 69 black demonstrators in Sharpeville in , the ANC was banned. The choice of Lutuli meant that the Nobel Committee had placed respect for human rights on the agenda, and that it had joined the international movement against apartheid. This was taken a step further in 1984, when Lutuli's countryman Bishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Prize for Peace.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//lutuli/facts/ > 0 - [1961](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1961) > Dag Hammarskjöld > for developing the UN into an effective and constructive international organization, capable of giving life to the principles and aims expressed in the UN Charter > Sweden > Europe > (1905 - ) > ![Dag Hammarskjöld](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132467-1629706078/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Diplomat and Peace ArbitratorDag Hammarskjöld, second Secretary-General of the United Nations, was born into Sweden's political elite. Both his training and his civil service career were in keeping with family traditions. He distinguished himself in languages, literature, philosophy and law before getting a PhD in economics in 1933. He obtained a number of senior appointments in the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs, and in the early postwar years was one of Sweden's leading diplomats. The Nobel Committee lauded Hammarskjöld for having built up an efficient and independent UN Secretariat, and for having taken an independent line towards the great powers. He was also praised for having organized a peacekeeping force in the Middle East after the Suez crisis, and for his commitment to peace during the civil war in the Congo. Hammarskjöld died, under suspicious circumstances, in an airplane crash in Northern Rhodesia in September . He is the only Nobel Peace Prize Laureate to have been awarded the distinction posthumously.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//hammarskjold/facts/ > 0 - [1962](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1962) > Linus Pauling > for his fight against the nuclear arms race between East and West > USA > North America > (1901 - 1994) > ![Linus Pauling](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132481-1629706081/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Pauling.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Chemist and peace activistOne person, Linus Pauling, has won two undivided Nobel Prizes. In 1954 he won the Prize for Chemistry. Eight years later he was awarded the Peace Prize for his opposition to weapons of mass destruction. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a turning point in Pauling's life. Together with other scientists he spoke and wrote against the nuclear arms race, and he was a driving force in the Pugwash movement. It sought to reduce the role of nuclear arms in international politics and was awarded the Peace Prize in 1995. In 1959, Linus Pauling drafted the famous “Hiroshima Appeal”, the concluding document issued after the Fifth World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. He was one of the prime movers who urged the nuclear powers the USA, the Soviet Union and Great Britain to conclude a nuclear test ban treaty, which entered into force on 10 October 1963. On the same day, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Linus Pauling had won the Peace Prize that had been held over from .https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//pauling/facts/ > 0 - [1963](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1963) > International Committee of the Red Cross > for promoting the principles of the Geneva Convention and cooperation with the UN > Switzerland > Europe > ![International Committee of the Red Cross](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132216-1629706028/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/1917_1944__redcross.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Peace Prize winner for the third timeThe International Committee of the Red Cross was declared the winner of the Peace Prize both in 1917 and in 1944. The main reason was its efforts during the two World Wars. In , it was 100 years since the Peace Prize Laureate in 1901, Henri Dunant, founded the Red Cross. On the occasion of the centenary, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wished to call attention to the importance of the organization in the global community. It also wished to reward the organization's work since World War II, but this time the Swiss Red Cross Committee shared the honor with the League of Red Cross Societies. Together, the two organizations made up what is now known as the International Red Cross. The Nobel Committee paid tribute to the International Committee of the Red Cross in particular for its work on the revised Geneva Convention of 1949 and its work during the conflicts in Hungary, Algeria, the Congo and Tibet.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//red-cross/facts/ > League of Red Cross Societies > for promoting the principles of the Geneva Convention and cooperation with the UN > France > Europe > ![League of Red Cross Societies](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132508-1629706086/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_red_cross_league.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The International Cooperative Body for the National SocietiesThe League of Red Cross Societies was founded in 1919, the year after the end of World War I. The initiative came from Henry P. Davison, President of the American Red Cross. Experience from the war showed that the national Red Cross Societies ought to cooperate more closely also in peacetime. The Red Cross Societies of the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan were the first members of the League, known today as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The League's first task was to undertake aid work in countries where the populations had suffered most severely during the war. Since then, the organization has carried out extensive aid work in peacetime when flooding, droughts and other natural disasters have led to hunger, need and death.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//red-cross-league/facts/ > 1 - [1964](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1964) > Martin Luther King Jr. > for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population > USA > North America > (1929 - 1968) > ![Martin Luther King Jr.](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132495-1629706084/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_King%20Jr_.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For Civil Rights and Social JusticeMartin Luther King dreamt that all inhabitants of the United States would be judged by their personal qualities and not by the color of their skin. In April 1968 he was murdered by a white racist. Four years earlier, he had received the Peace Prize for his nonviolent campaign against racism. King adhered to Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence. In 1955 he began his struggle to persuade the US Government to declare the policy of racial discrimination in the southern states unlawful. The racists responded with violence to the black people's nonviolent initiatives. In 1963, 250,000 demonstrators marched to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, where King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech. The following year, President Johnson got a law passed prohibiting all racial discrimination. But King had powerful opponents. The head of the FBI, John Edgar Hoover, had him placed under surveillance as a communist, and when King opposed the administration's policy in Vietnam, he fell into disfavour with the President. It has still not been ascertained whether King's murderer acted on his own or was part of a conspiracy.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//king/facts/ > 0 - [1965](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1965) > United Nations Children's Fund > for its effort to enhance solidarity between nations and reduce the difference between rich and poor states > USA > North America > ![United Nations Children's Fund](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132501-1629706085/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_UNICEF.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Improving living conditions for children and mothers in developing countriesThe UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) was founded by the new world organization, the United Nations, in 1946. To begin with, UNICEF concentrated on supplying food, clothes and medicine to children and mothers in war-torn Europe, China and Palestine. From the early 1950s on, the organization set itself longer-term objectives aimed at developing countries. It launched measures aimed at mothers and infants, gave advice on nutrition, distributed vitamin-rich food, and fought disease. As part of these efforts, UNICEF built thousands of health stations in the third world and launched projects to ensure school attendance for children and adolescents. The organization's work was strengthened when the UN adopted a Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959. According to the Nobel Committee, UNICEF's activities marked a breakthrough for the idea of solidarity between nations, which helped to reduce the difference between rich and poor states. That also reduced the danger of war.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//unicef/facts/ > 0 - [1968](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1968) > René Cassin > for his struggle to ensure the rights of man as stipulated in the UN Declaration > France > Europe > (1887 - 1976) > ![René Cassin](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132488-1629706083/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Cassin.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Father of the Declaration of Human RightsAs a soldier in World War I, the young lawyer René Cassin was severely wounded. The experience marked him for life. In the inter-war years, he represented France at the League of Nations, and worked for disarmament. In the 1920s he sought to bring about reconciliation between former enemies. In Cassin's opinion, military veterans were especially well equipped to bring about reconciliation and peace, and he supported the conferences of war veterans. But Hitler's seizure of power in Germany put an end to such efforts. After World War II, the UN became René Cassin's arena. He was the brains and the driving force behind the UN commission that drew up the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Article 1 reads as follows: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//cassin/facts/ > 0 - [1969](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1969) > International Labour Organization > for creating international legislation insuring certain norms for working conditions in every country > Switzerland > Europe > ![International Labour Organization](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132515-1629706087/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_ilo.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > “If You Want Peace, Secure Justice”Fifty years after the Versailles peace conference resolved to establish it, the International Labor Organization (ILO) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee was thereby following up a tradition going back to 1951, when the Frenchman Léon Jouhaux received the Prize. The main object of the ILO's activity is to establish principles whereby the working conditions and social rights of employees can be improved. It is basic to the organization's outlook that such reforms strengthen the cause of peace because they reduce social injustice. Up to the organization had adopted 128 conventions drawn up by representatives of national authorities, employers and employees from its member countries. The prize was an example of the Nobel Committee’s traditional support for UN organisations that works to build international law on the basis of universal human rights. At the same time, it was a recognition of the ILO’s efforts to launch development projects in poor countries.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//labour/facts/ > 0 - [1970](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1970) > Norman Borlaug > for having given a well-founded hope - the green revolution > USA > North America > (1914 - 2009) > ![Norman Borlaug](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132522-1629706088/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Borlaug.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Father of the Green RevolutionThe expression “the green revolution” is permanently linked to Norman Borlaug's name. He obtained a PhD in plant protection at the age of 27, and worked in Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s to make the country self-sufficient in grain. Borlaug recommended improved methods of cultivation, and developed a robust strain of wheat - dwarf wheat - that was adapted to Mexican conditions. By 1956 the country had become self-sufficient in wheat. Success in Mexico made Borlaug a much sought-after adviser to countries whose food production was not keeping pace with their population growth. In the mid-1960s, he introduced dwarf wheat into India and Pakistan, and production increased enormously. The expression “the green revolution” made Borlaug's name known beyond scientific circles, but he always emphasized that he himself was only part of a team. Borlaug is a warm adherent of birth control. The object was to strike a balance between population growth and food production.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//borlaug/facts/ > 0 - [1971](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1971) > Willy Brandt > for paving the way for a meaningful dialogue between East and West > Germany > Europe > (1913 - 1992) > ![Willy Brandt](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132648-1629706109/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Brandt.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > European Bridge-BuilderWilly Brandt grew up in reduced circumstances in the Hansa town of Lübeck, and in his youth became active on the left side in German politics. He engaged in illegal work against the Nazis, and had to go into exile in Norway in 1933. There he joined the Labor Party, and supported the campaign for a Peace Prize for Ossietzky. When Hitler invaded Norway in 1940, he fled to Sweden where as a journalist he campaigned for a free Norway and a democratic Germany. After the war, Brandt engaged in the rebuilding of West Germany's Social Democratic Party (the SPD). He became Mayor of West Berlin, party chairman, and Chancellor. As federal Chancellor, Brandt saw to it that West Germany signed the nuclear weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He also concluded a nonviolence agreement with the Soviet Union and an agreement with Poland which entailed that West Germany accepted the new national boundaries in Eastern Europe that had become effective in 1945. These treaties laid the foundations for the Four Power Agreement on Berlin which made it easier for families from either side of the divided city to visit each other.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//brandt/facts/ > 0 - [1973](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1973) > Henry Kissinger > for jointly having negotiated a cease fire in Vietnam in > USA > Europe > (1923 - 2023) > ![Henry Kissinger](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132543-1629706092/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Kissinger.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Bombs and Cease-Fire in VietnamChristmas 1972 saw heavy bombing raids carried out over the North Vietnamese capital Hanoi by American B-52 bombers. All over the world, thousands of people took to the streets in protest. The man who ordered the bombing was at the same time spearheading cease-fire negotiations. The armistice took effect in January , and the same autumn Henry Kissinger was awarded the Peace Prize together with his counterpart Le Duc Tho. The latter refused to accept the Prize, and for the first time in the history of the Peace Prize two members left the Nobel Committee in protest. Henry Kissinger has a German Jewish background. The family moved to the USA after Hitler came to power. Kissinger studied history and political science and was appointed to a chair at Harvard. During the war in Vietnam he prepared the peace negotiations with North Vietnam in Paris for President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, but when the Republican Richard Nixon won the election in 1968, Kissinger changed sides and became Nixon's closest foreign policy adviser. Kissinger went in for negotiations while the USA at the same time was putting North Vietnam under severe military pressure.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//kissinger/facts/ > Le Duc Tho > for jointly having negotiated a cease fire in Vietnam in > Democratic Republic of Vietnam > Asia > (1911 - 1990) > ![Le Duc Tho ](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132342-1629706053/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/1938__2015.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Refused the Peace PrizeLe Duc Tho had had long experience of fighting against great powers when he negotiated with Henry Kissinger for an armistice in Vietnam between 1969 and . As a young man he became a Communist, and the French colonial authorities imprisoned him for many years. He gained a place in the Communist Party's leadership during Japan's occupation of Vietnam in the Second World War. Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent after the defeat of Japan in 1945, but the French returned, and Le Duc Tho became one of the military leaders of the resistance against the French. After the defeat of the French, Vietnam was divided. The USA supported a government in South Vietnam which the Communists in the north regarded as an American puppet government. When the United States decided to negotiate after 1968, Le Duc Tho was appointed North Vietnam's chief negotiator, confronting Henry Kissinger. When Hanoi was bombed at Christmastime on Kissinger's orders, Le Duc Tho agreed to an armistice. But when he received the Peace Prize together with Kissinger in the autumn of , he refused to accept it, on the grounds that his opposite number had violated the truce.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//tho/facts/ > 1 - [1974](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1974) > Seán MacBride > for his efforts to secure and develop human rights throughout the world > Ireland > Europe > (1904 - 1988) > ![Seán MacBride](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132529-1629706089/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Mc%20Bride.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > From the IRA to Amnesty InternationalSeán MacBride received the Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of human rights, among other things as one of the founders of Amnesty International. In he was also Chairman of the International Peace Bureau and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, and had recently been elected UN Commissioner for Namibia. MacBride had nevertheless had a violent past. His father was killed in the Irish struggle for liberation from Great Britain, and he was only 13 when he joined the IRA. He took part in the concluding battles with the British before the Irish Republic was founded in 1921, and in the civil war that followed. MacBride backed Eamon de Valera in the latter's refusal to accept Northern Ireland's continuing union with England. In the 1930s, MacBride broke with the IRA and qualified in law. He defended IRA prisoners in Irish prisons who had been condemned to death. After World War II he was for a few years Minister for External Affairs for Ireland. He played a leading part in the establishment of the Council of Europe, and in the preparation of the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//macbride/facts/ > Eisaku Satō > for his contribution to stabilize conditions in the Pacific rim area and for signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty > Japan > Asia > (1901 - 1975) > ![Eisaku Sato](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132571-1629706096/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Sato.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Symbol of Japan's Will for PeaceThe reasons the Nobel Committee gave for awarding the Peace Prize to Eisaku Satō were that as Japanese Prime Minister he represented the will for peace of the Japanese people, and that he had signed the nuclear arms Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970. In the Committee's opinion, the award to Satō would encourage all those who were working to halt the spread of nuclear arms. The Peace Prize to Satō was heatedly discussed, especially in Japan. He was a controversial politician. The Japanese left accused him of being an obedient servant of American interests. Satō was born into an old samurai family. He was trained as a lawyer, and before and after World War II he was employed in the Japanese railway service. After the war he pursued a political career despite charges of corruption. In 1964 he was in charge of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and he became Prime Minister the same year. Satō supported the US war in Vietnam, while at the same time urging the United States to return the island of Okinawa to Japan. This happened in 1972, but the United States retained control of the military bases.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//sato/facts/ > 1 - [1975](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1975) > Andrei Sakharov > for his struggle for human rights in the Soviet Union, for disarmament and cooperation between all nations > USSR > Europe > (1921 - 1989) > ![Andrei Sakharov](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132536-1629706090/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Sakharov.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For Human Rights in the Soviet UnionThe father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, Andrei Sakharov, was awarded the Peace Prize in for his opposition to the abuse of power and his work for human rights. The leaders of the Soviet Union reacted with fury, and refused Sakharov permission to travel to Oslo to receive the Prize. His wife, Jelena Bonner, received it on his behalf. Sakharov was subsequently deprived of all his Soviet honorary titles, and the couple was for several years kept under strict surveillance in the town of Gorkij. Only when Gorbachev came to power in 1985 were they allowed to return to Moscow. Sakharov revealed his talent for theoretical physics at an early age, and got a doctorate in 1945. From 1948 on, under the supervision of the Nobel Laureate Igor Tamm, he worked on the development of a Soviet hydrogen bomb. Sakharov was patriotic, and believed it was important to break the American monopoly on nuclear weapons. But from the late 1950s on, he issued warnings against the consequences of the arms race, and in the 1960s and 1970s he voiced sharp criticism of the system of Soviet society, which in his opinion departed from fundamental human rights.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//sakharov/facts/ > 0 - [1976](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1976) > Betty Williams > for the courageous efforts in founding a movement to put an end to the violent conflict in Northern Ireland > United Kingdom > Europe > (1943 - 2020) > ![Betty Williams](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132550-1629706093/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Williams%20B.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Peace Must Be Built from BelowIn , three innocent children were killed in a shooting incident in Belfast. The housewife and secretary Betty Williams witnessed the tragedy. She decided to launch an appeal against the meaningless use of violence in the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Betty was joined by the dead children's aunt, Mairead Corrigan, and together they founded the peace organization the Community of Peace People. Betty Williams had a Protestant father and Catholic mother, a family background from which she derived religious tolerance and a breadth of vision that motivated her to work for peace. Early in the 1970s she joined an anti-violence campaign headed by a Protestant priest, before she threw herself with full force into grass-root activities for the Peace People. By setting up local peace groups comprising former opponents who undertook confidence-building measures, they hoped to set a peace process in motion from below. The Northern Irish peace movement disintegrated in the course of 1978. This was due both to internal disagreements and to the spreading of malicious rumors by Catholic and Protestant extremists.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//williams/facts/ > Mairead Corrigan > for the courageous efforts in founding a movement to put an end to the violent conflict in Northern Ireland > United Kingdom > Europe > (1944 -) > ![Mairead Corrigan](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132564-1629706095/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Corrigan.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Catholic and Campaigner for PeaceIn August , the Northern Irish secretary Mairead Corrigan's sister lost three children in a shooting incident in Belfast. She was promptly contacted by a witness, Betty Williams, and they agreed to found a peace organization to bring an end to the bitter conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Mairead grew up in a poor family in Belfast. In addition to her office job, she devoted a great deal of time in her youth to charity work in the Catholic organization Legion of Mary. That gave her a good basis on which to develop the nonviolent strategy of the Community of Peace People, which brought together thousands of people in protest marches and confidence-building measures among the grass roots in and 1977. Mairead Corrigan did not give up hope even when the Peace People lost nearly all their support in the late 1970s. She kept up her local peace work with admirable strength.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//corrigan/facts/ > 1 - [1977](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1977) > Amnesty International > for worldwide respect for human rights > United Kingdom > Europe > ![Amnesty International](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132557-1629706094/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Amnesty.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > A Light in the DarknessAmnesty International is a worldwide human rights organization run by its members. It is independent of all governments and all financial players. It is also independent of political convictions and religious faiths. Amnesty International uncovers the facts about violations and breaches of human rights. The issues may concern individuals or conditions within a particular state, but the organization also pursues various themes, such as the death penalty. Results are published in special reports. Amnesty's members organize targeted action and campaigns to bring an end to violations. Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by the British lawyer Peter Benenson. He got the idea for the organization's logo - the lit candle surrounded by barbed wire - from a Chinese proverb,“It is better to light a light than to curse the darkness”.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//amnesty/facts/ > 0 - [1978](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1978) > Anwar al-Sadat > for jointly having negotiated peace between Egypt and Israel in > Egypt > Africa > (1918 - 1981) > ![Anwar al-Sadat](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132599-1629706101/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_El%20Sadat.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For a Peace Treaty with IsraelIn October 1981, President Sadat of Egypt was murdered by persons who were opposed to his policy of reconciliation with Israel and his close links with the United States. Sadat shared the Peace Prize with Israel's Prime Minister Begin after having taken the initiative in negotiating a peace treaty between the two countries. The so-called Camp David Accords came about thanks to the mediation efforts of US President Jimmy Carter. Anwar el-Sadat had military training. In World War II he fought against the British dominance of Egypt and was imprisoned for several years. After the war he joined the officers who under Nasser's leadership deposed the pro-English King Farouk in 1952. Nasser died a few years after Egypt's defeat by Israel in 1967, and Sadat took over as President. He broke Egypt's links with the Soviet Union, and sought US support in recovering territories lost to Israel. In the autumn of 1977 Sadat undertook a bold journey to Jerusalem, where he offered Begin a peace treaty in return for recovery of the occupied Sinai peninsula.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//al-sadat/facts/ > Menachem Begin > for jointly having negotiated peace between Egypt and Israel in > Israel > Europe > (1913 - 1992) > ![Menachem Begin](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132578-1629706097/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Begin.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > From Terror to a Peace Treaty with EgyptWhen Israel's Prime Minister Begin came to Oslo to receive the Peace Prize, there were such violent demonstrations against him that the award ceremony had to be moved to Akershus fortress. Begin shared the Peace Prize with Egypt's President Anwar el-Sadat for the peace treaty concluded between Israel and Egypt. The so-called Camp David Accords were negotiated under pressure from US President Jimmy Carter. Menachem Begin was born in Poland, where he joined an extremist Zionist movement that wanted to establish a Jewish state in Palestine by force. During the Second World War Begin was in custody in the Soviet Union before he, with incredible luck, managed to get to Jerusalem. There he became the leader of the Irgun Zwai Leumi organization which resorted to terror both against the British authorities and against Palestine's Arab inhabitants. Irgun also fought the Israeli army until Begin accepted David Ben Gurion's supreme leadership. In 1977 Begin became Prime Minister when the conservative Likud alliance won the election.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//begin/facts/ > 1 - [1979](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1979) > Mother Teresa > for her work for bringing help to suffering humanity > India > Europe > (1910 - 1997) > ![Mother Teresa ](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132592-1629706100/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Mother%20Teresa.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Saint in the Gutter - and Saint in HeavenAt the age of twelve, the Catholic Albanian girl Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu heard a call. God demanded that she devote her life to Him. She entered a nunnery, received an education, and was sent to Calcutta in India to be a teacher. Her new name was Teresa. In India she received a second call from God: to help the poor while living among them. She founded a new sisterhood, Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa and her helpers built homes for orphans, nursing homes for lepers and hospices for the terminally ill in Calcutta. Mother Teresa's organization also engaged in aid work in other parts of the world. The modest nun became known all over the world, and money poured in. But she was also criticized. It was alleged that dying people in the hospices were refused pain relief, whereas Mother Teresa herself accepted hospital treatment. She also held a conservative view on abortion. She was regarded as a spokesperson for the Vatican. In 2003, the Pope took the first step towards her canonization. In 2016, Mother Teresa was declared a saint by Pope Francis.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//teresa/facts/ > 0 - [1980](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1980) > Adolfo Pérez Esquivel > for being a source of inspiration to repressed people, especially in Latin America > Argentina > South America > (1931 -) > ![Adolfo Pérez Esquivel](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132585-1629706099/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Perez%20Esquivel.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Artist and Peace ActivistFollowing the military coup in 1976, Argentina was a violent dictatorship for five years. It was during that period that the Roman Catholic Adolfo Pérez Esquivel became known as a human rights activist and opponent of all violence. His commitment could be traced right back to the 1960s, when he had worked for social development by means of nonviolent liberation. In the 1970s, Esquivel headed the Latin American human rights organization SERPAJ. Abandoning a university career, he traveled around Latin America building networks. In 1977 he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the Argentina's military rulers. He was only released after 14 months, when the pressure from his friends became too great. In the Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasized that Esquivel through his courageous nonviolent struggle had lit a light in the darkness of Argentina's violence. His work was an inspiration to oppressed people all over the world.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//esquivel/facts/ > 0 - [1981](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1981) > Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees > for promoting the fundamental rights of refugees > Switzerland > Europe > ![Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132474-1629706079/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/1954__unhcr.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Twice winner of the Peace PrizeWhen the Nobel Committee rewarded the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) with the Nobel Prize a second time in , the world’s refugee problem was still greater than ever before. Having been chiefly a European concern early in the 1950s, the issue had now become important to the third world, particularly Africa. That was where about half of the ten million refugees were for whom the UNHCR had a responsibility at the time. Once again, the Nobel Committee adhered to the tradition going back to Fridtjof Nansen by which aid to refugees was defined as fundamental work for peace. The Prize recognized the UNHCR’s great efforts to repatriate refugees in Asia, Africa and Latin America in the 1970s. At the same time, it was an expression of support for the United Nations and for the principles laid down in the international Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention). Its provisions gained special currency in the early 1980s owing to the harsh fate suffered by thousands of Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea. The UNHCR resolved to place the prize money in a fund for the benefit of functionally disabled refugees.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//refugees/facts/ > 0 - [1982](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1982) > Alva Myrdal > for their work for disarmament and nuclear and weapon-free zones > Sweden > Europe > (1902 - 1986) > ![Alva Myrdal](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132606-1629706102/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Myrdal.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Disarmament and Nuclear Weapons-Free ZonesAlva Myrdal already had an extensive career behind her when she was elected to the Swedish “riksdag” (legislative assembly) in 1962. She had studied philology and pedagogy, and in the inter-war years devoted herself to improving the conditions of the working class through the Social Democrat Party. She also made a name for herself as a campaigner for women's rights. After World War II, Alva Myrdal held prominent posts in the United Nations system, hand-picked by the Secretary-General. She was among other things head of UNESCO's social science section. From 1955 she was Swedish Ambassador to India. It was, however, as the government minister in charge of disarmament issues that Alva Myrdal really stood out as an innovator. As the representative of a non-aligned Sweden, she worked actively to persuade the superpowers to disarm. The nuclear race was a major concern, and she fought for nuclear weapons-free zones in Europe. Each individual country ought to take the initiative and ban nuclear arms on its territory.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//myrdal/facts/ > Alfonso García Robles > for their work for disarmament and nuclear and weapon-free zones > Switzerland > North America > (1911 - 1991) > ![Alfonso García Robles](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132683-1629706114/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Garcia%20Robles.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > “Mr. Disarmament”Alfonso García qualified as a lawyer and held a diploma from the Academy of International Law in the Hague. He embarked on a long career as a diplomat, including various posts at the UN headquarters in New York. After the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, Garcia Robles played a key part in the laborious efforts to make Latin America a nuclear-free zone, which led to an agreement signed by 14 states in Mexico City in 1967. When the agreement had been concluded, García Robles continued his work for peace. He participated in the formulation of the non-proliferation agreement for nuclear arms of 1968, and figured prominently in the UN's special sessions on disarmament. He was also Mexico's Foreign Minister for a little over a year. But it was as a diplomat that García Robles achieved his greatest triumphs. The last time he visited the UN Headquarters, he was lauded as “Mr. Disarmament”.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//robles/facts/ > 1 - [1983](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1983) > Lech Wałęsa > for non-violent struggle for free trade unions and human rights in Poland > Poland > Europe > (1943 -) > ![Lech Walesa](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132620-1629706105/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Walesa.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For Freedom to Organize behind the Iron CurtainWhen Lech Wałęsa received the Peace Prize for his campaign for freedom of organization in Poland, he had just been released from internment. The Communist party had tried in vain to break him, the symbol of the revolt against the party's monopoly on power. Wałęsa was employed as a marine electrician at the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk. He was fired for having participated in demands for independent labor unions. These were wanted by the workers after several of them had been killed by police and soldiers while demonstrating for better living conditions. During a strike in 1980, Wałęsa managed to enter the Lenin yard, and led the negotiations with the authorities. These ended in a victory for the Solidarity union because workers, intellectuals and the Catholic church had formed a united front. In 1981 the Polish authorities banned Solidarity, alleging that this was the only way of preventing a Soviet invasion. After a couple of years they abandoned that policy, and Poland was gradually liberalized. In 1989 Solidarity won free elections, and in the following year Wałęsa was elected President of Poland.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//walesa/facts/ > 0 - [1984](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1984) > Desmond Tutu > for his role as a unifying leader figure in the non-violent campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa > South Africa > Africa > (1931 - 2021) > ![Desmond Tutu](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132613-1629706104/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Tutu.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Africa's Peace BishopLike his countryman Albert Lutuli, the Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu was honored with the Peace Prize for his opposition to South Africa's brutal apartheid regime. Tutu was saluted by the Nobel Committee for his clear views and his fearless stance, characteristics which had made him a unifying symbol for all African freedom fighters. Attention was once again directed at the nonviolent path to liberation. Despite bloody violations committed against the black population, as in the Sharpeville massacre of 1961 and the Soweto rising in 1976, Tutu adhered to his nonviolent line. Yet he would not blame Nelson Mandela and his supporters for having made a different choice. The Peace Prize award made a big difference to Tutu's international standing, and was a helpful contribution to the struggle against apartheid. The broad media coverage made him a living symbol in the struggle for liberation, someone who articulated the suffering and expectations of South Africa's oppressed masses. There are many indications that Tutu's Peace Prize helped to pave the way for a policy of stricter sanctions against South Africa in the 1980s.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//tutu/facts/ > 0 - [1985](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1985) > International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War > for spreading authoritative information and by creating awareness of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war > USA > North America > ![International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132627-1629706106/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Int%20Physicians.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Highlighting medical consequences of nuclear warIPPNW was only five years old when the organization received the Nobel Peace Prize. The heart specialists Bernhard Lown from the United States and Evgeny Chazov from the Soviet Union had become acquainted in the 1960s, and both were concerned about the medical aspects of a nuclear war. Despite belonging to opposing camps during the Cold War, they agreed to found an international organization for physicians that would seek to counteract the nuclear arms race. And the physicians of the world proved enthusiastic. In the organization had 135,000 members in 40 countries, including 28,000 in the USA and 60,000 in the Soviet Union. IPPNW held annual congresses to tell the world about the consequences of nuclear war. Extensive nuclear explosions could prevent sunlight from reaching the earth. The resulting drop in temperature would cause a “nuclear winter”. The organization recommended a nuclear test ban and demanded that the great powers should refrain from first use in conflict situations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//physicians/facts/ > 0 - [1986](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1986) > Elie Wiesel > for being a messenger to mankind: his message is one of peace, atonement and dignity > USA > Europe > (1928 - 2016) > ![Elie Wiesel](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132641-1629706108/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Wiesel.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Eye-Witness and MessengerThe Jewish author, philosopher and humanist Elie Wiesel made it his life's work to bear witness to the genocide committed by the Nazis during World War II. He was the world's leading spokesman on the Holocaust. After German forces occupied Hungary in 1944, the Wiesel family was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp and killing centre in Nazi German-occupied Poland. Upon arrival, Elie Wiesel's mother and younger sister were murdered in a gas chamber. Wiesel and his father were selected for forced hard labour, and intentionally exposed to starvation, cold and abuse. In early 1945, the two were forced on a death march to Buchenwald concentration camp, where Wiesel’s father became infected by dysentery. He died shortly after their arrival on 29 January. Over the next few months, the guards were killing thousands of prisoners a day. However, seventeen-year-old Elie was still alive when Allied soldiers liberated the camp on 11 April. For the world to remember and learn from the Holocaust was not Elie Wiesel's only goal. He thought it equally important to fight indifference and the attitude that “it's no concern of mine”. Elie Wiesel saw the struggle against indifference as a struggle for peace. In his words, “The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference”.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//wiesel/facts/ > 0 - [1987](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1987) > Oscar Arias Sánchez > for his work for lasting peace in Central America > Costa Rica > North America > (1940 -) > ![Oscar Arias Sánchez](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132634-1629706107/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Arias%20Sanchez.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Peace-Broker in Central AmericaCosta Rica's President Oscar Arias Sánchez was awarded the Peace Prize in for a plan designed to put an end to the cruel civil wars that were devastating Central America. In August , the peace plan was approved by Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. It aimed at free elections, safeguards for human rights, and an end to foreign interference in the countries' internal affairs. Oscar Arias studied law and economics in Costa Rica, the USA, and Great Britain, and got a doctorate in economics. He joined the social democratic party, and became a member of the government in the 1970s. When he became President in 1986, a civil war was raging in neighboring Nicaragua. Oscar Arias refused the USA permission to use Costa Rican territory in support of the Contras. He rebuked the Sandinistas for their lack of democracy and resisted US attempts to alter the contents of the peace plan that was signed in .https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//arias/facts/ > 0 - [1988](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1988) > United Nations Peacekeeping Forces > for preventing armed clashes and creating conditions for negotiations > USA > North America > ![United Nations Peacekeeping Forces](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132753-1629706127/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_UN%20peacekeeping.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Peace-keeping in countries torn by military conflictTowards the end of the Cold War, the Nobel Committee wished to indicate that the United Nations ought to have greater influence on international politics. It did so by awarding the Peace Prize to military personnel who had served as observers and UN soldiers. From 1948 to , over 500,000 persons from 53 states took part in the UN's peacekeeping operations. Of them, 733 lost their lives. Up to , the world organization had sent peacekeeping forces to the Middle East, Kashmir, Cyprus, the Congo, and West New Guinea. The units were under the command of the UN Secretary-General, and were made available voluntarily by member countries. With the exception of the forces that were sent to the Congo, the troops were equipped with light arms for self-defense. Their main assignments were to report on the situation in crisis areas, set up buffer zones, keep up contacts between conflicting parties, monitor armistice agreements, maintain calm and good order, and give humanitarian aid.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//un/facts/ > 0 - [1989](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1989) > The 14th Dalai Lama > for advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people > India > Asia > (1935 -) > ![The 14th Dalai Lama ](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132676-1629706113/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Dalai%20Lama.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > A Buddhist Advocate for Peace and FreedomFrom his exile in India, the religious and political leader the Dalai Lama has since 1959 stood at the head of the nonviolent opposition to China's occupation of Tibet. When the Nobel Committee chose the Dalai Lama, it emphasized that he based his Buddhist peace philosophy on reverence for all living things and the idea of a universal responsibility that embraces both man and nature. It weighed heavily in the Tibetan leader's favor that he had showed willingness to compromise and seek reconciliation despite brutal violations. The award of the Peace Prize gave the Dalai Lama the opportunity to present a plan for the restoration of peace and human rights in Tibet. In the plan he recommended that the country be turned into an ecologically stable and demilitarized zone that might serve as a buffer between major Asian powers. The object was to set in motion serious negotiations on the future status of Tibet, but this was rejected by the Chinese government.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//lama/facts/ > 0 - [1990](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1990) > Mikhail Gorbachev > for the leading role he played in the radical changes in East-West relations > USSR > Europe > (1931 - 2022) > ![Mikhail Gorbachev](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132662-1629706111/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Gorbachev.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > He Brought the Cold War to a Peaceful EndIn 1989 the Berlin Wall fell, and the Cold War between East and West was brought to a halt. In , the Nobel Committee gave President Gorbachev the main credit for this by awarding him the Peace Prize. Gorbachev grew up under Stalin's regime, and experienced German occupation in World War II. After the war, he studied law in Moscow and pursued a career in the Communist Party. Journeys abroad gradually made him critical of the inefficient Soviet system, which came under further strain when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. In 1985 Gorbachev was elected the new leader of the Soviet Union. He sought to reform communism, and introduced the concepts “glasnost” (openness) and “perestroika” (change). Society was liberalized, and Gorbachev sought détente with the USA so as to be able to transfer funding from defense to civil society. He declared that he would not support Communist regimes in other countries if their peoples were opposed to them. He thus started a chain reaction which led to the fall of communism in Europe.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//gorbachev/facts/ > 0 - [1991](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1991) > Aung San Suu Kyi > for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights > Burma > Asia > (1945 -) > ![Aung San Suu Kyi ](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132655-1629706110/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Aung%20San%20Suu%20Kyi.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Burma's Modern Symbol of FreedomThe Burmese Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the legendary liberation movement leader Aung San. Following studies abroad, she returned home in 1988. From then on, she led the opposition to the military junta that had ruled Burma since 1962. She was one of the founders of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and was elected secretary general of the party. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, she opposed all use of violence and called on the military leaders to hand over power to a civilian government. The aim was to establish a democratic society in which the country's ethnic groups could cooperate in harmony. In the election in 1990, the NLD won a clear victory, but the generals prevented the legislative assembly from convening. Instead they continued to arrest members of the opposition and refused to release Suu Kyi from house arrest. The Peace Prize had a significant impact in mobilizing world opinion in favor of Aung San Suu Kyi's cause. However, she remained under house arrest for almost 15 of the 21 years from her arrest in July 1989 until her release on 13 November 2010, whereupon she was able to resume her political career and put her mark on the rapid democratization of Myanmar. On 1 February, 2021, military forces seized the power in a coup, and Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested again. She has later been sentenced to a total of 8 years in prison based on various bogus charges.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//kyi/facts/ > 0 - [1992](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1992) > Rigoberta Menchú Tum > for her struggle for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples > Guatemala > North America > (1959 -) > ![Rigoberta Menchú Tum](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132669-1629706112/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Menc%C3%BA%20Tum.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Work for the Rights of Indigenous PeoplesIn the western world celebrated that it was 500 years since Columbus reached America. In the same year, the Guatemalan indigenous woman Rigoberta Menchú was awarded the Peace Prize for her work for the rights of indigenous peoples and reconciliation between ethnic groups. Indigenous organizations lobbied for her nomination, they wanted to draw attention to the fact that the European discovery of America had entailed the extermination and suppression of indigenous populations. Rigoberta grew up in a country marked by extreme violence. Several members of her own family were killed by the army, which was hunting down opponents of the regime. She herself fled to Mexico in the early 1980s, where she came into contact with European groups that were working for human rights in Latin America. With time, Rigoberta began to favor a policy of reconciliation with the authorities, and Norway served as the intermediary in negotiations between the government and the guerrilla organizations. A peace agreement was signed in 1996. Rigoberta Menchú herself became a UN Ambassador for the world's indigenous peoples.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//tum/facts/ > 0 - [1993](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1993) > Nelson Mandela > for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa > South Africa > Africa > (1918 - 2013) > ![Nelson Mandela](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132697-1629706116/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Mandela.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Africa's Greatest Freedom SymbolSon of a chief, Nelson Mandela studied law and became one of South Africa's first black lawyers. Early in the 1950s he was elected leader of the youth wing of the ANC (African National Congress) liberation movement. When the country's white minority government prohibited the ANC in 1960, Mandela became convinced that armed struggle was inevitable. Inspired by the guerrilla wars in Algeria and Cuba, he organized a military underground movement that engaged in sabotage. In 1962 he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for high treason and conspiracy against the state. From 1964 to 1982 he was confined to the notorious prison island Robben Island, together with several other resistance leaders. He was then moved to prison on the mainland until his release in 1990. During his imprisonment, Mandela became a rallying point for South Africa's oppressed, and the world's most famous political prisoner. Nelson Mandela shared the Peace Prize with the man who had released him, President Frederik Willem de Klerk, because they had agreed on a peaceful transition to majority rule.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//mandela/facts/ > F.W. de Klerk > for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa > South Africa > Africa > (1936 - 2021) > ![F.W. de Klerk](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132690-1629706115/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_de%20Klerk.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > From Apartheid to Majority RuleIn 1990 South Africa's President Frederik Willem de Klerk decided to release Nelson Mandela, leader of the liberation movement, who had been in prison since 1963. Following the release, the two politicians worked together to bring an end to the policy of racial segregation. It was for his participation in this peace process that de Klerk was awarded the Peace Prize in . When de Klerk took office as President in 1989, no one expected him to play a key part in the termination of apartheid. Both as a lawyer, as a parliamentarian, and as a member of the government he had stood out as a firm upholder of white privilege. But when he realized that the apartheid system was leading to both economic and political bankruptcy, he put himself at the head of a radical change of course. He continued the negotiations with Mandela and the ANC liberation movement, which had begun in secret. They agreed to prepare for a presidential election and to draw up a new constitution with equal voting rights for every population group in the country.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//klerk/facts/ > 1 - [1994](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1994) > Yasser Arafat > for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East > Palestine > Africa > (1929 - 2004) > ![Yasser Arafat](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132732-1629706122/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Arafat.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > A Pistol and an Olive BranchIn 1974, Yasser Arafat addressed the UN General Assembly. He said he was holding an olive branch for peace in one hand and a freedom fighter's pistol in the other. Twenty years later he and the Israeli leaders Peres and Rabin received the Peace Prize for having opted for the olive branch by signing the so-called Oslo Accords in Washington. The agreement was aimed at reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Arafat grew up in Cairo and Jerusalem. He took part in the war against the new state of Israel in 1948, when many Palestinians were expelled. As a qualified engineer, he took a job in Kuwait. From there, he organized the guerrilla group Fatah, which attacked Israel. Following Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, Arafat became the leader of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization), an umbrella organization for Palestinian guerrilla groups. The groups resorted to terror to attract world attention, but it gradually became clear to Arafat that he would have to accept the state of Israel for the USA to be willing to mediate in the dispute. He approved the meeting of Palestinian negotiators with Israelis at secret negotiations in Oslo.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//arafat/facts/ > Shimon Peres > for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East > Israel > Europe > (1923 - 2016) > ![Shimon Peres](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132795-1629706139/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Peres.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For Reconciliation with the PalestiniansIn the winter of 1993, secret negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis took place in the Norwegian capital Oslo. They resulted in the so-called Oslo Accords, signed in Washington the same year. The agreement aimed at reconciling the two peoples, with Israel gradually withdrawing from occupied territories and granting the Palestinians self-determination. Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres was in charge of the negotiations on the Israeli side, and in the autumn of he shared the Peace Prize with his own Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Shimon Peres was born in Belorussia. To escape the persecution of Jews there, the family fled to Palestine in 1934. Peres studied agricultural science and joined the party of the Zionist leader David Ben Gurion. When Arab forces launched their attack on the new state of Israel in 1948, Peres was given the chief responsibility for securing military equipment for Israel from abroad. Later he organized Israel's nuclear program and is regarded as the father of Israel's atom bomb.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//peres/facts/ > Yitzhak Rabin > for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East > Israel > Asia > (1922 - 1995) > ![Yitzhak Rabin](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132767-1629706131/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Rabin.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > From Armed Force to ReconciliationYitzhak Rabin was the soldier who became Prime Minister of Israel in 1992, and who abandoned the use of force in favor of negotiations to achieve peace with the Palestinians. He approved the Oslo Accords, negotiated in secret in Norway in 1993. Israel was to withdraw gradually from occupied territories and to grant the Palestinians self-determination. The agreement was signed in Washington the same year, and in Rabin shared the Peace Prize with his own Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Rabin was born in Jerusalem. During World War II he fought on the British side to prevent German conquest of the Middle East. After the war he fought against the Brits because they were preventing Jewish immigration into Palestine. Rabin took part in the war against the Arabs when the state of Israel was founded in 1948, and wound up as army chief of staff. In the 1970s he embarked on a political career, and competed with Shimon Peres for the top posts in the Labour Party. Some Jews saw the Oslo Accords as a betrayal, and Rabin was assassinated by a religious fanatic in the autumn of 1995.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//rabin/facts/ > 2 - [1995](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1995) > Joseph Rotblat > for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms > United Kingdom > Europe > (1908 - 2005) > ![Joseph Rotblat](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132711-1629706118/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Rotblat.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Scientist Opposed to Nuclear WeaponsWhen Joseph Rotblat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in , 50 years had passed since the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But it was 52 years since Joseph Rotblat had first taken a stance against the development of the new weapons of mass destruction. In his opinion, science and research should serve the cause of peace. Of Jewish descent, Rotblat was born in Warsaw, Poland. He studied physics and took up research in Great Britain in 1939. His work on splitting the atom led him to the conclusion that it was possible to produce an atomic bomb. In 1943 he was given permission to withdraw from the Manhattan Project, in which the United States and Great Britain were cooperating on the production of nuclear weapons. To Rotblat it was clear that Germany would not manage to make an atomic bomb before the war was over. He also feared that nuclear weapons might be used in a clash with the communist Soviet Union. During the post-war period, Joseph Rotblat has done an enormous amount of work in the cause of peace, dialogue and disarmament through the Pugwash movement, with which he shared the Nobel Peace Prize in .https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//rotblat/facts/ > Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs > for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms > Canada > North America > ![Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132704-1629706117/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Pugwash.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Diminishing the role of nuclear weapons in international politicsThe aim of the Pugwash Conferences is to diminish the role of nuclear arms in international politics. Underlying the holding of the first conference in Pugwash, Canada, in 1957 was the Russell-Einstein Manifesto against weapons of mass destruction that had been issued in 1955. The object was to involve and inform people, and Albert Einstein and the mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell were prime movers. One of those who was stirred to enthusiasm was the Canadian businessman Cyrus Eaton. He financed the first international conference of independent scientists in his home town of Pugwash. Up to the Peace Prize award in , 37 conferences had been held. Three issues have been most important to Pugwash: the dangers of nuclear energy in war and peace, control of nuclear weapons, and the responsibility of science to society. During the Cold War, the Pugwash movement served as a channel of communication between the communist Eastern block and the Western democracies. Participants played important parts behind the scenes in bringing about nuclear test ban and non-proliferation treaties.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//pugwash/facts/ > 1 - [1996](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1996) > Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo > for their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor > East Timor > Oceania > (1948 -) > ![Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132718-1629706119/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Belo.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The Courageous Peace BishopThe other East Timorese who received the Nobel Peace Prize in was Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. He grew up in a farming family, began taking an interest in religious questions at an early age, and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1981. Shortly after being elected head of the Catholic church in East Timor in 1983, Carlos Belo openly denounced the brutal Indonesian occupation of the province. The occupiers responded by placing Belo under strict surveillance, but the Bishop refused to be intimidated, even by numerous threats to his life. He continued to speak up for nonviolent resistance to the oppression. In 1989 he demanded that the UN arrange a plebiscite on East Timor, and after a bloody massacre two years later he helped to smuggle two witnesses to Geneva, where they described the violations to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Belo's struggle gained the sympathy of the Pope in Rome, who demonstrated it by visiting East Timor in the late 1980s.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//belo/facts/ > José Ramos-Horta > for their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor > East Timor > Oceania > (1949 -) > ![José Ramos-Horta](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132725-1629706120/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Ramos-Horta.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The Tireless DiplomatIn 1975, when Portugal had devolved its colonial rule, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia. José Ramos-Horta was one of the leaders of the resistance. He did not take up arms himself, but left the country as foreign minister in the government set up by the liberation movement FRETELIN (Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor). For the next twenty years he traveled all over the world pleading the cause of the East Timorese, above all in the United Nations. Ramos-Horta shared the Peace Prize with his countryman, Bishop Carlos Belo. In the mid-1980s, Ramos-Horta began advocating dialogue with Indonesia, and in 1992 he presented a peace plan. It contained concrete proposals for humanitarian cooperation with the occupying power and a growing international presence headed by the UN. This was to lay the foundations for Indonesian withdrawal and self-determination for the East Timorese people. Both these peace objectives were reached in 2001. According to Ramos-Horta, the Nobel Peace Prize contributed significantly to this end.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//ramos-horta/facts/ > 1 - [1997](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1997) > International Campaign to Ban Landmines > for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines > USA > North America > ![International Campaign to Ban Landmines](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132746-1629706126/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Icbl.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Turning point for a landmine-free worldLandmines are the scourge of poor countries. 100 million un-detonated anti-personnel mines still remain buried in 60 countries after wars and armed conflicts. Their purpose is to maim or kill soldiers, but it is the civilian population that suffers most. Each year 25,000 people are injured. The ICBL began its work in 1991. Its object was to bring about an international ban on landmines. Moreover, governments all over the world were to be urged to finance mine clearance. The organization was fronted by Jody Williams from the USA, who shared the Peace Prize with the ICBL in . In , the ICBL had the support of over 1,000 organizations in 60 countries. That year, the representatives of 120 countries signed the Ottawa Convention prohibiting landmines. It was the world's small and medium-sized states that got the resolution adopted, strongly supported by the ICBL. But the great powers did not sign.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//icbl/facts/ > Jody Williams > for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines > USA > North America > (1950 -) > ![Jody Williams](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132739-1629706124/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Williams%20J.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Peace Activist and a Driving Force in the Campaign against LandminesWhen Jody Williams was studying international politics in the 1980s, she became involved in aid work in war-torn El Salvador. Landmines were a constant threat to the civilian population, and she was given responsibility for providing artificial limbs for children who had lost arms and legs. From 1991 on, Jody Williams was a driving force in the launching of an international campaign against landmines. By , thanks to her strength and organizational talent, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) had 1,000 organizations from 60 countries on its list of members. The Ottawa Convention, which was signed by 120 states and entered into force in 1999, will always be associated with the names of Jody Williams and the ICBL. It banned the use, production, sale and stock-piling of anti-personnel mines. In addition it contained provisions concerning mine clearance and the obligation to provide humanitarian assistance.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//williams/facts/ > 1 - [1998](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1998) > John Hume > for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland > United Kingdom > Europe > (1937 - 2020) > ![John Hume](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132760-1629706129/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Hume.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Civil Rights Campaigner and EuropeanIn the Easter of , Northern Ireland's largest political parties signed a peace agreement which became known as the Good Friday agreement. In the autumn of , the Nobel Committee decided to award the Peace Prize to two persons who were at the heart of the peace process in the civil-war-torn province. One of the two was the Catholic leader of the moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party, John Hume, regarded by many as the principal architect behind the peace agreement. After having joined the Northern Irish civil rights movement in the late 1960s, he became convinced that nationalism was a declining force in the new Europe. In his view, Northern Ireland needed extended self-government with powers reasonably divided between the population groups: better relations would have to be established between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between London and Dublin. Hume devoted a great deal of energy to drawing the leader of the IRA, Gerry Adams, and the British Government, into the negotiations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//hume/facts/ > David Trimble > for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland > United Kingdom > Europe > (1944 - 2022) > ![David Trimble](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132788-1629706136/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Trimble.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Protestant and Seeker of CompromiseDavid Trimble, the leader of Northern Ireland's Protestant party, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was known for a long time for his implacable stance towards the Catholics. But only a few weeks after taking over as party leader in 1995, he launched discussions with his political opponents in search of compromise. Trimble sat down at the negotiating table with the Prime Minister of Ireland, the old arch-enemy Sinn Fein, and the British. In April he was one of the signatories to a peace agreement which he persuaded a UUP majority to support. The Good Friday agreement entailed extended self-government for Northern Ireland under which a reasonable degree of influence was secured for both population groups. The penal code would be reviewed, imprisoned terrorists would be released, and unlawful weapons would be destroyed. The Peace Prize encouraged Trimble to take further steps in the peace process after he had taken over as First Minister in Northern Ireland's coalition government in November 1999.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//trimble/facts/ > 1 - [1999](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1999) > Doctors Without Borders > in recognition of the organisation's pioneering humanitarian work on several continents > France > Europe > ![Médecins Sans Frontières](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132774-1629706132/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_MSF.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Médecins Sans FrontièresMédecins Sans Frontières is an independent, neutral and impartial emergency aid organization that was founded in France in 1971. It demands full and unimpeded freedom to carry out its work in accordance with medical ethics and the rights of human beings to humanitarian aid. The organization is a frequent critic of violence and violations of human rights in areas of conflict where it has stationed doctors and aid workers. MSF has been involved in a large number of aid operations, both at scenes of natural disasters and in theatres of war. The organization's current budget amounts to NOK 2 billion. It annually sends out 2,500 doctors and nurses, who are well assisted by 15,000 local employees in 80 countries. MSF annually carries out 6 million consultations and 200,000 surgical interventions. Such figures make it one of the world's largest emergency aid organizations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//msf/facts/ > 0 - [2000](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2000) > Kim Dae-jung > for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular > South Korea > Asia > (1924 - 2009) > ![Kim Dae-jung](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132781-1629706133/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Kim.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > “The sunshine politician”South Korea's President Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Peace Prize for his “sunshine policy” towards North Korea. By means of warmth and friendliness he sought to lay the foundations for a peaceful reunification of the two Korean states, which had been in a state of war since 1950. It was not only Kim Dae-jung's policy of reconciliation with the neighboring state to the north that the Nobel Committee set store by. It also valued his long and courageous struggle for democracy and human rights in his own country, which had entailed long periods of imprisonment, house arrest, kidnapping and exile. In the summer of , Kim Dae-jung arranged a summit meeting with North Korea's leader, one result of which was that family members who had been separated for over forty years were allowed to meet. South Korea maintained its humanitarian aid to its neighbor, and relations were developed in the fields of transport, sports, art and culture.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//dae-jung/facts/ > 0 - [2001](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2001) > United Nations > for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world > USA > North America > ![United Nations](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132809-1629706143/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_UN.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Promoting multilateralism and safeguarding world peaceSupport for organized cooperation between states and for the build-up of a global organization has been an important guideline for the Nobel Committee throughout its history. It therefore came as no surprise that the United Nations was favored on the occasion of the Peace Prize centenary in , together with the organization's Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In previous years the Committee had agreed on a total of thirteen Laureates with connections with the United Nations. The United Nations Organization was planned by the allies, with the United States in the lead, during World War II, and in 1945 it replaced the League of Nations as a forum for safeguarding world peace. Disagreements between the great powers made it impossible to establish a supranational armed force under UN auspices that could be put into action against violators of the peace. In its early years the organization's efforts were concentrated instead on overcoming poverty and the promotion of economic and social development. Since 1970 the advancement of human rights has been an increasingly important United Nations concern.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//un/facts/ > Kofi Annan > for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world > Ghana > Africa > (1938 - 2018) > ![Kofi Annan](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132853-1629706150/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Annan.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Africa's Foremost DiplomatIn , its centennial year, the Nobel Committee decided that the Peace Prize was to be divided between the United Nations (UN) and the world organization's Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. The choice showed the Committee's traditional support for organized cooperation between states. Kofi Annan was born in Ghana in 1938. His father was a chief and governor of the Ashanti province. He attended a Methodist school and a technical college in his home country before continuing his academic studies in Switzerland and the United States. Annan pursued a varied career in the UN system until 1993, when he was appointed Deputy Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations, a position he held until 1997, when he took over as the United Nations' seventh Secretary-General. Kofi Annan was awarded the Peace Prize for having revitalized the UN and for having given priority to human rights. The Nobel Committee also recognized his commitment to the struggle to contain the spreading of the HIV virus in Africa and his declared opposition to international terrorism.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//annan/facts/ > 1 - [2002](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2002) > Jimmy Carter > for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development > USA > North America > (1924 - 2024) > ![Jimmy Carter](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132867-1629706152/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Carter.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The Active Ex-PresidentWhile the President of the United States, George W. Bush, was planning war on Iraq in the autumn of , former President Jimmy Carter was awarded the Peace Prize for undertaking peace negotiations, campaigning for human rights, and working for social welfare. According to the Chairman of the Nobel Committee, Carter ought to have been awarded the Prize as early as in 1978, when he successfully mediated a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. Jimmy Carter was born in Georgia. In 1953, after a military career, he took over his parents' farm near the town of Plains. He went into politics as a Democrat, and was elected Governor of Georgia. In 1976 Carter won the presidential election, partly thanks to his reputation as an honest born-again Christian. The high-point of his presidential term was the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. Thereafter, he experienced several setbacks in his foreign policy, such as the conflict with Iran after the fall of the Shah and a new cold war with the Soviet Union after that country's invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. In the following year Carter lost the presidential election to Ronald Reagan. As ex-President, Carter conducted an active peace and mediation campaign which sometimes seemed to run counter to official US policy.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//carter/facts/ > 0 - [2003](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2003) > Shirin Ebadi > for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children > Iran > Asia > (1947 -) > ![Shirin Ebadi](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132802-1629706226/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Ebadi.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The First Female Peace Prize Laureate from the Islamic WorldThe lawyer Shirin Ebadi was one of Iran's first female judges. After Khomeini's revolution in 1979 she was dismissed. Ebadi opened a legal practice and began defending people who were being persecuted by the authorities. In the year 2000 she was imprisoned herself for having criticized her country's hierocracy. Shirin Ebadi took up the struggle for fundamental human rights and especially the rights of women and children. She took part in the establishment of organizations that placed these issues on the agenda, and wrote books proposing amendments to Iran's succession and divorce laws. She also wanted to withdraw political power from the clergy and advocated the separation of religion and state. In its choice of Ebadi, the Nobel Committee expressed a wish to reduce the tensions between the Islamic and the Western worlds following the terrorist attack on the United States on 11 September 2001. At the same time, the Committee wished to extend a helping hand to the Iranian reform movement.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//ebadi/facts/ > 0 - [2004](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2004) > Wangari Maathai > for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace > Kenya > Africa > (1940 - 2011) > ![Wangari Maathai](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132835-1629706147/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Maathai.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Sustainable Development, Democracy and PeaceWangari Maathai was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She was also the first female scholar from East and Central Africa to take a doctorate (in biology), and the first female professor ever in her home country of Kenya. Maathai played an active part in the struggle for democracy in Kenya, and belonged to the opposition to Daniel arap Moi's regime. In 1977 she started a grass-roots movement aimed at countering the deforestation that was threatening the means of subsistence of the agricultural population. The campaign encouraged women to plant trees in their local environments and to think ecologically. The so-called Green Belt Movement spread to other African countries, and contributed to the planting of over thirty million trees. Maathai's mobilisation of African women was not limited in its vision to work for sustainable development; she saw tree-planting in a broader perspective which included democracy, women's rights, and international solidarity. In the words of the Nobel Committee: “She thinks globally and acts locally.”https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//maathai/facts/ > 0 - [2005](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2005) > International Atomic Energy Agency > for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way > Austria > Europe > ![International Atomic Energy Agency](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132816-1629706144/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_iaea.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Preventing the Military Use of Nuclear EnergyThe IAEA was established in 1957 for the purpose of promoting increased use of nuclear power for civil purposes without entailing the further spread of nuclear arms. When the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entered into force in 1970, the IAEA became the most important instrument for controlling that the treaty was complied with. All non-nuclear weapon states that have acceded to the NPT must accept monitoring by the IAEA of their nuclear power stations and other nuclear facilities. This control, carried out both by technical means and in local inspections, has grown increasingly efficient. The IAEA was for instance the first to show that North Korea was developing nuclear weapons. In the lead-up to the war with Iraq in 2003, the IAEA disagreed with the American claims that the country had resumed its nuclear arms program. In this case, too, the IAEA proved to be right. In the view of the Nobel Committee, the threat of proliferation of nuclear arms must be met by the broadest possible international cooperation under the leadership of the IAEA and the UN Security Council.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//iaea/facts/ > Mohamed ElBaradei > for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way > Egypt > Africa > (1942 -) > ![Mohamed ElBaradei](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132822-1629706145/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_ElBaradei.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Proliferation of Nuclear Arms Must Be StoppedMohamed ElBaradei took up the post of Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in December 1997, and had managed the Agency's affairs outstandingly for two four-year periods when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for . Just before the award was announced, ElBaradei was re-elected for a third period. In the reasons it gave for the award, the Nobel Committee pointed to the important work ElBaradei and the IAEA had done to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that civil use of nuclear power takes place under reliable international control. The Committee also noted how much ElBaradei had done to strengthen the IAEA as an organization and to increase accession to the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Mohamed ElBaradei was born in Cairo in 1942. He read law in Egypt, and took a doctorate in international law at the New York University School of Law in 1974. Before becoming head of the IAEA he had worked for a number of years as an Egyptian diplomat and in the United Nations.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//elbaradei/facts/ > 1 - [2006](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2006) > Muhammad Yunus > for their efforts to create economic and social development from below > Bangladesh > Asia > (1940 -) > ![Muhammad Yunus](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132899-1629706214/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_yunus.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Banker to the Poorest of the PoorMuhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for for their work to “create economic and social development from below”. Grameen Bank's objective since its establishment in 1983 has been to grant poor people small loans on easy terms - so-called micro-credit - and Yunus was the bank's founder. In 1972, following studies in Bangladesh and the USA, Yunus was appointed professor of economics at the University of Chittagong. When Bangladesh suffered a famine in 1974, he felt that he had to do something more for the poor beyond simply teaching. He decided to give long-term loans to people who wanted to start their own small enterprises. This initiative was extended on a larger scale through Grameen Bank. According to Yunus, poverty means being deprived of all human value. He regards micro-credit both as a human right and as an effective means of emerging from poverty: “Lend the poor money in amounts which suit them, teach them a few basic financial principles, and they generally manage on their own”, Yunus claims.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//yunus/facts/ > Grameen Bank > for their efforts to create economic and social development from below > Bangladesh > Asia > ![Grameen Bank](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132828-1629706146/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_grameen_bank.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Microcredit as a Means of Fighting PovertyBy establishing Grameen Bank in 1983, Muhammad Yunus sought to realise his vision of self-support for the very poorest people by means of loans on easy terms. The bank has since been a source of inspiration for similar microcredit institutions in over one hundred countries. Banks in the traditional system have been reluctant to lend money to anyone unable to give some form or other of security. Grameen Bank, on the other hand, works on the assumption that even the poorest of the poor can manage their own financial affairs and development given suitable conditions. The instrument is microcredit: small long-term loans on easy terms. When Grameen Bank was awarded the Peace Prize in , more than seven million borrowers had been granted such loans. The average amount borrowed was 100 dollars. The repayment percentage was very high. Over 95 per cent of the loans went to women or groups of women. Experience showed that that ensured the best security for the bank and the greatest beneficial effect for the borrowers' families.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//grameen/facts/ > 1 - [2007](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2007) > Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change > for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change > USA > North America > ![Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132846-1629706149/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_ipcc.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Climate Change will Increase the Danger of WarBy awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former US Vice President Al Gore Jr., the Norwegian Nobel Committee called special attention to their efforts to obtain and disseminate greater knowledge concerning man-made climate changes and the steps that need to be taken to counteract those changes. The IPCC was established in 1988 by the UN General Assembly. The first four main reports submitted by the Climate Panel between 1990 and were based on a coordinated program of research by several thousand experts in over a hundred countries. The reports stated that climate change is accelerating, that the changes are to a significant extent man-made, and that the need to adopt counter-measures is urgent if we are to prevent a global climate crisis from arising in the near future and threatening the basis of human life. According to the IPCC, there is a real danger that the climate changes may also increase the danger of war and conflict, because they will place already scarce natural resources, not least drinking water, under greater pressure and put large population groups to flight from drought, flooding, and other extreme weather conditions.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//ipcc/facts/ > Al Gore > for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change > USA > North America > (1948 -) > ![Al Gore](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132841-1629706149/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_gore.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > An Inconvenient TruthThe Nobel Peace Prize for was awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former US Vice President Al Gore for their efforts to obtain and disseminate information about the climate challenge. In Gore's case, certainly, the award was grounded in his tireless campaign to put the climate crisis on the political agenda. As early as in 1992, the year when he was elected Vice President of the United States, Gore was making himself known as a highly environment-conscious politician, among other things through his book Earth in the Balance: Forging a New Common Purpose, in which he took up the problem of global warming. Having lost the presidential election in 2000, he decided to use his influence to increase public awareness in the United States and other countries of the seriousness of the environmental situation. This goal he well-nigh achieved by means of his documentary film An Inconvenient Truth (2006). According to the Nobel Committee, Gore is probably the single individual who has done most to rouse the public and the governments that action had to be taken to meet the climate challenge. “He is,” in the words of the Committee, “the great communicator”.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//gore/facts/ > 1 - [2008](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2008) > Martti Ahtisaari > for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts > Finland > Europe > (1937 - 2023) > ![Martti Ahtisaari](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132881-1629706156/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Ahtisaari.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Settler of Conflicts and Peace MediatorThe Nobel Peace Prize for was awarded to Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland, for his great efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts. Ahtisaari was a major contributor when Namibia achieved independence in 1989-90, arbitrated in Kosovo in 1999 and 2005-07, and helped to bring the long-lasting conflict in the Aceh province in Indonesia to an end in 2005. Ahtisaari was born in Viborg in 1937. In the Winter War in 1939-40, the town was annexed by the Soviet Union and its inhabitants were driven out. Those childhood experiences motivated him in his adult commitment to peace. In 1977, following many years in the foreign service, Ahtisaari was appointed UN Commissioner for Namibia. The assignment aroused his interest in the resolution of conficts and peace mediation. He was President of Finland from 1994 to 2000. After his presidential term, he again stepped up his work for peace, among other things by establishing Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), which played an active part in bringing about the Aceh peace accord in 2005.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//ahtisaari/facts/ > 0 - [2009](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2009) > Barack H. Obama > for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples > USA > North America > (1961 -) > ![Barack H. Obama](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132888-1629706158/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Obama.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Inspires Hope for a Better FutureBarack H. Obama, the 44th President of the United States, had been in power for less than eight months when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for . Among the reasons it gave, the Nobel Committee lauded Obama for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. Emphasis was also given to his support - in word and deed - for the vision of a world free from nuclear weapons. Even before the election, Obama had advocated dialogue and cooperation across national, ethnic, religious and political dividing lines. As President, he called for a new start to relations between the Muslim world and the West based on common interests and mutual understanding and respect. In accordance with a promise he made during his election campaign, he set in motion a plan for the withdrawal of U.S. occupying forces from Iraq. During his first year in power, President Obama showed himself to be a strong spokesman for human rights and democracy, and as a constructive supporter of the work being done to put effective measures in place to combat the climate crisis. This is in line with his appeal: “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges”.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//obama/facts/ > 0 - [2010](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2010) > Liu Xiaobo > for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China > China > Asia > (1955 - 2017) > ![Liu Xiaobo](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132860-1629706151/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Xiaobo.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Sentenced for the Crime of SpeakingLiu Xiaobo was born on the 28th of December 1955. As a young man he studied literature and philosophy, and worked as a literary critic and university lecturer in Beijing. He took a doctorate in 1988, after which he was a guest lecturer at universities in Europe and the USA. Liu Xiaobo took part in the student protests on Tiananmen Square in 1989. For that he was sentenced to two years in prison. Later he served three years in a labour camp for having criticised China's one-party system. For over twenty years, Liu has fought for a more open and democratic China. He demands that the Chinese authorities comply with Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution, which lays down that the country's citizens enjoy “freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration”. In 2008, Liu was a co-author of Charta 08, a manifesto which advocates the gradual shifting of China's political and legal system in the direction of democracy. He was arrested in December 2008, and sentenced a year later to eleven years' imprisonment for undermining the state authorities. Liu has constantly denied the charges. “Opposition is not the same as undermining”, he points out.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//xiaobo/facts/ > 0 - [2011](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2011) > Ellen Johnson Sirleaf > for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work > Liberia > Africa > (1938 -) > ![Ellen Johnson Sirleaf](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132906-1629706161/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Sirleaf.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Africa’s first female democratically elected head of stateEllen Johnson Sirleaf was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent efforts to promote peace and her struggle for women’s rights. She is the first female democratically elected head of state in Africa. Johnson Sirleaf came to power in 2005, creating peace and economic progress in the country. She strengthened women’s rights, expanded freedom of speech and became an example for other African leaders. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had studied in the US, where she took a Master’s degree in Public Administration. She returned to her home country and served as Minister of Finance, but the government was overthrown in a military coup in 1980. Forced into exile, she worked for the UN Development Program for Africa and the Development Fund for Women. Johnson Sirleaf lost the presidential election in 1997 to the corrupt Charles Taylor, but after he was forced to flee the country, she won the presidential election in 2005.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//johnson_sirleaf/facts/ > Leymah Gbowee > for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work > Liberia > Africa > (1972 -) > ![Leymah Gbowee](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132874-1629706154/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Gbowee.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Mobilized women across religious dividing linesLeymah Gbowee was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent efforts to promote peace and her struggle for women’s rights. In 1990 civil war broke out in Liberia. Leymah Gbowee underwent training in trauma therapy in order to take care of traumatised child soldiers. In 2002, she organised the grass roots movement, Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, which held meetings at which Christian and Muslim women jointly presented a non-violent message of peace. These demonstrations were instrumental in pressuring President Charles Taylor to sign a peace agreement in 2003. Leymah Gbowee then spearheaded efforts to mobilise Liberian women to vote for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the 2005 presidential elections. This support was a crucial factor in Sirleaf’s election victory. In 2008, Gbowee played a key role in the award-winning documentary film “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” on women’s unique struggle during the Liberian civil war.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//gbowee/facts/ > Tawakkol Karman > for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work > Yemen > Asia > (1979 -) > ![Tawakkol Karman](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132927-1629706165/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Karman.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Freedom of expression and democracy in YemenTawakkol Karman, a Yemeni journalist, was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize from the Arab world. She shared the award with two Liberian women, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee, for their non-violent efforts to promote peace and their struggle for women’s rights. She led several protests against the dictatorial regime of President Saleh, calling for democracy and freedom of speech. She founded the organisation Women Journalists without Chains, and was imprisoned and persecuted on account of her active engagement. Tawakkol Karman came forward as a courageous leadership figure during the Arab Spring in and was praised for her efforts to promote reconciliation between Sjia and Sunni Muslims and between Islam and other religions. Like Iranian Shirin Ebadi, Peace Prize laureate for 2003, she maintained that Islam is no obstacle to the full acceptance of women in every sphere of society.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//karman/facts/ > 2 - [2012](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2012) > European Union > for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe > Europe > ![European Union (EU)](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132894-1629706160/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_EU.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Cooperation and peace in EuropeThe Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the EU on the grounds that the organisation had advanced peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. Furthermore, the EU had promoted friendly relations between the former archenemies Germany and France. The EU had also strengthened democracy in Greece, Spain and Portugal. The same development continued after the end of the Cold War, when a number of Central and Eastern European countries joined the EU. This enlargement did away with the division between east and west and settled many ethnically based national conflicts. Moreover, the EU had contributed to reconciliation in the Balkans in the aftermath of the wars there and the dissolution of Yugoslavia. In an era of major economic difficulties and social unrest, the union had played a stabilising role. Crises of that nature had previously triggered political and military conflicts in Europe. This was now virtually inconceivable, largely on account of the EU.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//eu/facts/ > 0 - [2013](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2013) > Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons > for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons > Europe > ![Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132913-1629706162/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_opcw.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Towards universal elimination of chemical weaponsOPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its comprehensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons. The organisation monitors that the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, which prohibits the stockpiling and production of such weapons, is respected. OPCW has destroyed many of them and carries out inspections to verify that the convention is observed. The Norwegian Nobel Committee attached particular importance to the fact that the Convention and OPCW’s work could lead to the universal elimination of weapons of mass destruction and become a model for other treaties. The Committee criticised the United States and Russia for not destroying their large arsenals of chemical weapons. Another goal was to put greater pressure on states that had not signed or ratified the Convention. The use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war was another reason why the Norwegian Nobel Committee wished to support OPCW.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//opcw/facts/ > 0 - [2014](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2014) > Kailash Satyarthi > for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education > India > Asia > (1954 -) > ![Kailash Satyarthi](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132934-1629706166/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Satyarthi.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Fighting child labour and slaveryChildren’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “focusing attention on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain”. Another important reason was that he followed the non-violent tradition of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. The Peace Prize laureate was born to a high-caste family. He completed a degree in electrical engineering, but soon gave up his career and his high-caste name, Sharma. Instead he called himself Satyarthi, which means “seeker of truth”. Satyarthi founded the Save the Childhood Movement (BBA) and the GoodWeave organisation, which certifies carpet manufacturers who do not use child labour in their production. As of , Satyarthi and his colleagues had freed 83 000 children from slavery. In 1998, Satyarthi led a global march against child labour. This protest helped spur the United Nations’ International Labour Organisation (ILO) to adopt a convention protecting children against exploitation and hazardous work.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//satyarthi/facts/ > Malala Yousafzai > for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education > United Kingdom > Asia > (1997 -) > ![Malala Yousafzai](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132920-1629706163/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Yousafzai.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > For the right of every child to receive an educationMalala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for the right of every child to receive an education. She was born in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. When the Islamic Taliban movement took control of the valley in 2008, girls’ schools were burned down. Malala kept a diary of the events, which was published in 2009 by BBC Urdu. In her diary she spoke out against the Taliban’s terrorist regime. An American documentary film made Malala internationally famous. It was not long before the Taliban threatened her life. In 2012, Malala was shot in the head on a school bus by a Taliban gunman. She survived, but had to flee to England and live in exile there because a fatwa was issued against her. In 2013, TIME magazine named Malala one of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.” On her 16th birthday she spoke in the United Nations. In her speech Malala called for the equal right to education for girls all over the world, and became a symbol of this cause.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//yousafzai/facts/ > 1 - [2015](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2015) > National Dialogue Quartet > for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011 > Tunisia > ![National Dialogue Quartet ](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132342-1629706053/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/1938_1973_.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Strengthening democracy and human rights through peaceful dialogueThe Tunisian Quartet (the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGGT), the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers (ONAT) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its contribution to the development of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia. In 2011, the Arab Spring opened the door for peaceful dialogue and concerted efforts to promote democracy between political parties and religious groups in the Middle East. The uprising originated in Tunisia, and in the country was the only one where the hope of democracy was still alive. Tunisia was on the brink of civil war when the Quartet took action and succeeded in establishing a national dialogue. The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasised the fact that Islamist and secular political movements worked together to democratise the country. The National Dialogue Quartet can take much of the credit for Tunisia’s adoption of a new constitution that paved the way for parliamentary and presidential elections.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//tndq/facts/ > 0 - [2016](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2016) > Juan Manuel Santos > for his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end > Colombia > South America > (1951 -) > ![Juan Manuel Santos](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132955-1629706170/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Santos.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Bringing the world’s longest running civil war to an endJuan Manuel Santos took office as Colombia's president in August 2010. The conservative politician had previously been Minister of Defense and then distinguished himself by stepping up the war against the revolutionary Marxist guerrillas FARC. The newly elected president surprisingly declared that he would try to end the civil war by peaceful means. Formal peace talks with the FARC started in autumn 2012. A peace agreement was signed in August . In a subsequent referendum, the agreement was rejected by a narrow margin. Santos then invited to a broad national dialogue aimed at saving the peace process. The parties signed a revised agreement on 24 November of the same year. Congress ratified the agreement a week later. More than 220,000 Colombians were killed in the 52-year civil war between rebels, the government and paramilitary groups. 80 percent of those killed were civilians. Somewhere between five and seven million people were displaced from their homes. The participation of victims and their representatives, and the inclusion of their voices, is a key feature of the peace process in Colombia. The agreement put great emphasis on the need to ensure victims’ rights.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//santos/facts/ > 0 - [2017](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2017) > International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons > for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons > Australia > Oceania > ![International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132975-1629706174/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_ICAN.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Fighting to prevent nuclear disasterICAN is an international organisation with partner organisations in more than one hundred countries, including Norway. Its headquarters are in Geneva. The organisation was founded in 2007 to mobilise people all over the world to convince their governments to support a ban on nuclear weapons. In the eyes of the initiators, the nuclear powers were not fulfilling their pledges of nuclear disarmament under the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The foundation of ICAN was instigated by the organisation awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. The campaign was also inspired by the 1987 Peace Prize laureate, Jody Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. ICAN took part in planning and implementing several inter-governmental conferences that focused attention on the catastrophic humanitarian consequences a nuclear war would entail for humanity. This contributed to the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption in 2016 of a resolution to commence negotiations on an international legal prohibition of nuclear weapons. In , 122 of the United Nations’ member states voted in favour of a treaty prohibiting the development, acquisition, stockpiling or use of nuclear weapons. No nuclear powers or NATO countries supported the treaty. Of the Nordic countries, only Sweden voted for the treaty.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//ican/facts/ > 0 - [2018](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2018) > Denis Mukwege > for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Africa > (1955 -) > ![Denis Mukwege](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132948-1629706169/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_mukwege.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Helping to combat sexual violenceDenis Mukwege grew up in the town of Bukavu in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He trained as a doctor and became a gynecologist after studying in France. In 2008, he established Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he and his staff have treated the injuries of thousands of women victims of sexual violence. Many millions of people have been killed, abused and forced to flee in the civil wars that have ravaged the DRC since the 1990s. The fighting largely concerns control of the DRC’S important raw materials. Both government forces and rebel groups have used the rape of women as a weapon to humiliate and weaken their opponents. Mukwege has become one of the world’s leading experts on the treatment of internal injuries suffered by women subjected to gang rape. He has carried out countless operations, working long days of up to 18 hours. Typically, he was in the operating room when he was told that he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Mukwege’s work is dangerous. In 2012, he and his family survived an assassination attempt, and his life has been threatened by groups bent on preventing him from publicly condemning the atrocities. Despite these threats, Mukwege has continued to criticise the DRC’s government and the international community for not doing enough to prosecute the perpetrators of such war crimes.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//mukwege/facts/ > Nadia Murad > for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict > Iraq > Asia > (1993 -) > ![Nadia Murad](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132941-1629706168/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_murad.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Victim of sexual violenceNadia Murad grew up in the village of Kojo in northern Iraq. She is a member of the Yazidi minority. Yazidis are an ancient ethno-religious group. In 2014, militants from the Islamic State (IS) conquered Kojo and massacred several hundred men and elderly women. The IS claimed that the Yazidi were devil worshippers who had to be exterminated. Twenty-one-year-old Nadia Murad and other young women were abducted and held as sex slaves. Nadia was raped and threatened with execution unless she converted to the IS version of Islam. After some months, Nadia Murad managed to escape, and in 2015 arrived in Germany. There she chose to tell the international community what she had suffered. Murad hoped that doing so would result in her abusers being brought to justice for their crimes. In 2016, she was appointed the United Nations’ first Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. In 2008, the United Nations determined that use of sexual violence in war and conflict is a war crime. Nadia Murad has written an autobiography, “The Last Girl”. By recounting the atrocities perpetrated against her, she seeks to help ensure that future generations of girls and young women do not become victims of sexual violence in war.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//murad/facts/ > 1 - [2019](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2019) > Abiy Ahmed Ali > for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea > Ethiopia > Africa > (1976 -) > ![Abiy Ahmed Ali](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132968-1629706172/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Ali.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > A historic peace agreementAbiy Ahmed Ali took up the post of Prime Minister of Ethiopia in April 2018. The country was ravaged by a protracted conflict with its neighbour, Eritrea, over a disputed border area. An international arbitration commission ruled in favour of Eritrea in 2002, but the Ethiopian government refused to accept the ruling. After 16 years of “no war, no peace” between the two countries, Abiy Ahmed broke the deadlock and accepted the decision. In September 2018, he and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a historic peace agreement. Abiy Ahmed has also engaged in other peace and reconciliation processes in and around the Horn of Africa. In his own country, he granted an amnesty to political prisoners and abolished press censorship. He also focused on empowering women. In a short time, the country’s president, Federal Supreme Court president and half of the ministers in his government were women, including the Minister of Peace. Democratisation poses serious challenges in a country with 100 million inhabitants and more than 80 different ethnic groups. In , Ethiopia, a country with no tradition of free elections and democracy, was still racked by major internal conflicts. At the time Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize, there was considerable suspense as to whether he would succeed in fulfilling his promise of free and fair elections in 2020.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//abiy/facts/ > 0 - [2020](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2020) > World Food Programme > for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict > Europe > ![World Food Programme](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/132961-1629706186/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_wfp.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > Combatting hunger on a global scaleThe World Food Programme was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger, promote peace in conflict-affected areas, and prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict. WFP was established in 1961 by the United Nations General Assembly and FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation and is funded by voluntary contributions from governments, organisations and private individuals. WFP works in particular to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating poverty and hunger. In 2019, more than 100 million people suffered from severe hunger, most of them as a result of war and conflict. The worldwide Corona pandemic did also swell the number of poor and hungry. In 2019, WFP provided emergency food assistance in 88 countries, but the organisation also worked in a long-term perspective to increase local production of food and to meet the nutritional needs of women and infants. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has previously awarded Peace Prizes for efforts that can prevent war and promote peace by combating hunger. The first one was presented in 1949 to FAO’s Director General John Boyd Orr, and the second in 1970 to Norman Ernest Borlaug, “the father of the Green Revolution”.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//wfp/facts/ > 0 - [1914](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1914): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1915](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1915): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1916](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1916): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1918](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1918): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1923](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1923): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1924](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1924): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1928](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1928): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1932](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1932): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1939](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1939): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1940](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1940): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1941](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1941): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1942](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1942): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1943](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1943): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1948](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1948): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1955](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1955): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1956](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1956): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1966](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1966): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1967](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1967): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. One-third of the prize money was transferred to the Main Fund, and two-thirds to the Nobel Institute's Special Fund. - [1972](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1972): No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year. The prize money for 1972 was transferred to the Nobel Foundation's Main Fund. - [2021](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2021) > Maria Ressa > for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace > Philippines > Asia > (1963 -) > ![Maria Ressa](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135153-1641282999/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Ressa%281%29.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg ) > Fighting for press freedomMaria Ressa was born in Manila, the Philippines. At the age of nine, she and her family moved to the United States. After studying at Princeton University, she returned to her native country and took a master’s degree at the University of the Philippines Diliman. From 1995, Ms Ressa worked as a local correspondent for CNN, covering in particular the growth of terrorism in South East Asia. In 2012, she was one of the co-founders of the Rappler online news site. As an investigative journalist, she has distinguished herself as a fearless defender of freedom of expression and has exposed the abuse of power, use of violence and increasing authoritarianism of the regime of President Rodrigo Duterte. In particular, Ms Ressa has focused critical attention on President Duterte’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign. She and Rappler have also documented how social media are being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//ressa/facts/ > Dmitry Muratov > for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace > Russia > Europe > (1961 -) > ![Dmitry Muratov](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135145-1641282989/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Muratov%281%29.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg ) > Fighting for press freedomDmitry Muratov started out as a journalist for Soviet newspapers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, he and other journalists co-founded the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which soon became a leading advocate for democracy and freedom of expression in Russia. The Soviet Union’s last leader and the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mikhail Gorbachev, supported the newspaper financially and became co-owner in 2006. Mr Muratov has been editor-in-chief for most years since 1995. Under Mr Muratov’s leadership, Novaya Gazeta has criticised the Russian authorities for corruption, electoral fraud and human rights violations. Six of the newspaper’s journalists have been murdered because they wrote critical articles on Russian military operations in Chechnya and the Caucasus. The best known of them is Anna Politkovskaya. As editor-in-chief Mr Muratov has on several occasions criticised Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the government’s use of military force, both in and outside Russia.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//muratov/facts/ > 1 - [2022](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2022) > Ales Bialiatski > The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy. > Belarus > Europe > (1962 -) > ![Ales Bialiatski](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135890-1673343605/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Bialiatski.png%20%28thumbnail%29.png ) > The fight for human rights and democracy Ales Bialiatski has worked to promote democracy and human rights in Belarus since the 1980s. He has been called a beacon of light for these efforts throughout Eastern Europe. A constitutional amendment adopted in 1996 gave President Alexander Lukashenko dictatorial powers, triggering protests and demonstrations. The authorities cracked down hard on the protests, and many people were jailed. Ales Bialiatski then founded the organisation Viasna (Spring) to provide support for the incarcerated demonstrators and their families. In the years that followed, Viasna evolved into a human rights organisation that documented the authorities’ abuses against and torture of political prisoners. As a result of Ales Bialiatski’s work, the government authorities sought to silence him. In 2011, they sentenced him to several years’ imprisonment for alleged tax evasion. He was released in 2014. In June 2021, in the wake of the massive demonstrations against President Lukashenko’s dictatorship that broke out after the presidential election in August 2020, Ales Bialiatski was again jailed, this time without trial or conviction. He was still in prison when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in .https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//bialiatski/facts/ > Memorial > The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy. > Russia > Europe > ![Memorial](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135873-1673345046/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Memorial_.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The fight for human rights and democracyMemorial was founded in the former Soviet Union in 1987. Its initiators included the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and human rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina. The organisation documented the victims of the crimes committed during the Stalinist era. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the organisation continued this work while also focusing on human rights violations in Russia. During the Chechen wars (1994-1996 and 1999-2009), Memorial gathered information on abuses and war crimes committed against the civilian population by Russian and pro-Russian forces. The head of Memorial’s branch in Chechnya, Natalia Estemirova, was murdered because of her role in this work. In 2016, the authorities declared Memorial to be a foreign agent, and in 2021 the Russian Supreme Court ruled that Memorial was to be liquidated because it had defended the rights of persons who allegedly had ties to terrorist organisations. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March , the authorities declared Memorial to be illegal and took over the offices of the forcibly dissolved organisation.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//memorial/facts/ > Center for Civil Liberties > The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy. > Ukraine > Europe > ![Center for Civil Liberties](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135913-1673345889/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_CCL%281%29.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg ) > The fight for human rights and democracyIn 2007, democracy and human rights activists founded the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. In its early years, the organisation put pressure on the authorities to ensure that Ukraine developed into a full-fledged democracy and a state governed by the rule of law. A key objective was Ukraine’s accession to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. When Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and supported the breakaway republics Donestsk and Luhansk, the center began to document cases of unlawful imprisonment and other abuses against the civilian population in these areas. After Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February , the CCL concentrated on documenting war crimes against the civilian population perpetrated by Russian soldiers in the occupied areas. This work was carried out in cooperation with bodies such as the International Criminal Court. The organisation also engaged in important efforts to document the forced relocation of civilians from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//center-for-civil-liberties/facts/ > 2 - [2023](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2023) > Narges Mohammadi > for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all > Iran > Asia > (1972 -) > ![Narges Mohammadi](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136308-1703058499/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Mohammadi.jpg%20%28thumbnail%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Foto: Reihane Taravati) > A champion of equality and women’s rightsThe Nobel Peace Prize for was awarded to the imprisoned Iranian human rights advocate Narges Mohammadi. More than 20 years of fighting for women’s rights made her a symbol of freedom and standard-bearer in the struggle against the Iranian theocracy. In 2003, she joined the Defenders of Human Rights Center, founded by that year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. In the years that followed, Ms Mohammadi helped imprisoned activists, led a campaign against the death penalty and criticized the regime’s use of torture and sexualized violence. The freedom struggle cost her dearly. She was arrested 13 times and sentenced to 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. In October , when her selection as the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was announced, she was locked in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. From captivity, Narges Mohammadi stood at the forefront of major protests against the Iranian regime in autumn 2022. The unrest had been triggered by the arrest, mistreatment and death of a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jina Amini, at the hands of the morality police. Her crime: not adequately covering her hair. The authorities responded harshly against the demonstrators. More than 500 were killed, thousands were injured, and at least 20 000 were arrested. Narges Mohammadi commented on her peace prize as follows: “I will never stop striving for the realization of democracy, freedom and equality. Surely, the Nobel Peace Prize will make me more resilient, determined, hopeful and enthusiastic.”https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//mohammadi/facts/ > 0 - [2024](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2024) > Nihon Hidankyo > for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again > Japan > Asia > ![Nihon Hidankyo](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137784-1760094695/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/Nihon%20Hidankyo.jpg%20%28large%29.webp ) > For demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.The two American atomic bombs that were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 killed approximately 120 000 people. A comparable number died later of burn and radiation injuries. It is estimated that 650 000 people survived the attacks. These survivors are known as Hibakusha in Japanese. The fate of the survivors was long concealed and ignored. In 1956, local Hibakusha associations along with victims of nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific formed The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organisations, shortened in Japanese to Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement soon became the largest and most widely representative Hibakusha organisation in Japan. Nihon Hidankyo has two main objectives. The first is to promote the social and economic rights of all Hibakusha, including those living outside Japan. The second is to ensure that no one ever again is subjected to the catastrophe that befell the Hibakusha. Through personal witness statements, Nihon Hidankyo has carried out extensive educational work on the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. Hence the motto “No more Hibakusha”.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//nihon-hidankyo/facts/ > 0 - [2025](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2025) > Maria Corina Machado > for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy > Venezuela > South America > (1967 -) > ![Maria Corina Machado](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/138053-1769432702/_Laureates/Individual%20portraits%20_%20logos/_Machado.jpg%20%28large%29.webp © Jo Straube / Nobel Prize Outreach) > Keeps the flame of democracy burning amidst a growing darknessMaria Corina Machado has led the struggle for democracy in the face of ever-expanding authoritarianism in Venezuela. Ms Machado studied engineering and finance, and had a short career in business. In 1992 she established the Atenea Foundation, which works to benefit street children in Caracas. Ten years later she was one of the founders of Súmate, which promotes free and fair elections and has conducted training and election monitoring. In 2010 she was elected to the National Assembly, winning a record number of votes. The regime expelled her from office in 2014. Ms Machado leads the Vente Venezuela opposition party and in 2017 helped found the Soy Venezuela alliance, which unites pro-democracy forces in the country across political dividing lines. In 2023 she announced her candidacy for president in the 2024 presidential election. When she was blocked from running, she supported the opposition’s alternative candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. The opposition mobilised widely and collected systematic documentation that it was the true winner of the election. The regime declared victory and tightened its grip on power. Ms Machado is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize first and foremost for her efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela. But democracy is also in retreat internationally. Democracy – understood as the right to freely express one’s opinion, to cast one’s vote and to be represented in elective government – is the foundation of peace both within countries and between countries.https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace//machado/facts/ > 0 ## [Nobel Peace Prize](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/) ### [About the Nobel Peace Prize](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/) > Since 1901 the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 105 times, to 139 laureates: 92 men, 19 women and 28 organizations. - [The Nobel Peace Prize celebrations](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/): The celebration of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate starts with the press conference on 9 December, peaks with the award ceremony on the 10, and is rounded off with the peace prize exhibition opening on the 11. - [Peace Prize laureates and geography](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/peace-prize-laureates-and-geography): The globalisation of the Nobel Peace Prize > Up until 1960, the Nobel Peace Prize was almost exclusively the preserve of highly educated white men from Europe and the USA. Only once had the prize gone to a candidate from a country outside Europe and the US, when it was awarded to the Argentine Foreign Minister Carlos Saavedra Lamas https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1936 (1936). > The award in 1960 to the South African human rights activist Albert John Lutuli https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1960 was the beginning of a gradual globalization of the Peace Prize, which picked up speed in the 1980s and 1990s. - [Women laureates](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/women-laureates): Only 20 women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – compared to 92 men. > By 1970, the Nobel Peace Prize had almost exclusively been the preserve of highly educated white men from Europe and the United States. Until then, only three women had won the peace prize: Austrian Bertha von Suttner in 1905 and the two Americans Jane Addams (1931) and Emily Greene Balch (1946). > During the 1970s, three women were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan shared the peace prize in 1976, and Mother Teresa was awarded the prize in 1979. Since 1990, thirteen women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. > List of Nobel Peace Prize awarded women: > Maria Corina Machado https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/prisvinnere/2025 (2025) > Narges Mohammadi https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2023 (2023) > Maria Ressa https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2021 (2021) > Nadia Murad https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2018 (2018) > Malala Yousafzai https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2014 (2014) > Ellen Johnson Sirleaf https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2011 (2011) > Leymah Gbowee https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2011 (2011) > Tawakkol Karman https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2011 (2011) > Wangari Muta Maathai https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2004 (2004) > Shirin Ebadi https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/2003 (2003) > Jody Williams https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1997 (1997) > Rigoberta Menchú Tum https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1992 (1992) > Aung San Suu Kyi https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1991 (1991) > Alva Myrdal https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1982 (1982) > Mother Teresa https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1979 (1979) > Betty Williams https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1976 (1976) > Mairead Corrigan https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1976 (1976) > Emily Greene Balch https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1946 (1946) > Jane Addams https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1931 (1931) > Bertha von Suttner https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1905 (1905) - [The medal](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/the-medal): The 18 carat (fairmined) gold medal with Latin inscription "pro pace et fraternitate gentiums", symbolizes the international fraternization that Nobel wished to contribute to through the Peace Prize. > ![The Nobel Peace Prize medal](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/134376-1632386090/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/nobelinstituttet-GA-044022-3.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Det Norske Nobelinstitutt. Foto: Geir Anders Rybakken Ørslien) > What means most to winners of the Nobel Peace Prize is undoubtedly the recognition that follows from receiving what many consider to be the world's most honourable prize. With the prize, laureates are also presented with a medal, a diploma, and a cheque for a large sum of money (currently 11 million Swedish crowns). > The Peace Prize Medal was designed by one of Norway's greatest artists, the sculptor Gustav Vigeland, assisted by the Swedish engraver Erik Lindberg. It is the only medal Vigeland ever made. It was ready in time for the award in 1902. In its original form, the medal was 23 carat gold and weighed 192 grams; from 1980 on this was changed to 18 carats and 196 grams. Its diameter has always remained the same: 6.6 centimeters. > Pro pace et fraternitate gentium > The front of the medal shows a portrait in relief of Alfred Nobel. His name and the years of his birth and death are engraved along the edge. The reverse shows three naked men embracing - a symbol of the international fraternization that Nobel wished to contribute to through the Peace Prize. The inscription is in Latin: Pro pace et fraternitate gentium (For peace and fraternity among peoples). Around the 5 mm thick edge are engraved the words Prix Nobel de la Paix, the year, and the name of the laureate. - [The diploma](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/the-diploma): The diploma presented with the medal at the award ceremony on 10 December features original artwork by a contemporary Norwegian artist. The calligraphed diploma text is in Norwegian. > The original diploma was designed by Gerhard Munthe. The motif was inspired by the Norwegian lion, underlining the connection between the Nobel Committee and the Storting. The wording of the diploma also shows the link: "The Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Storting has, in accordance with the terms of the will set up by Alfred Nobel on the 27th of November 1895, awarded [name of laureate] the Nobel Peace Prize for [year]". > From 1970 up to and including 1990, the diploma was adorned with a woodcut by Ørnulf Ranheimsæter. In 1991 it was decided that the diploma should be given a new appearance each year by means of an original work of art commissioned from a contemporary Norwegian artist. Multicolour printing and calligraphy were adopted at the same time, replacing machine-printed lettering. The first diploma in the new format was the work of Karl Erik Harr. He has been followed by a number of well-known painters and graphic artists, including Håkon Bleken, Jakob Weidemann, Ørnulf Opdahl, Jens Johannessen, Franz Widerberg and Håkon Gullvåg. > The Nobel Artist for each year is now introduced to the public at an open house event held at the Nobel Peace Center on the day following the announcement of the award. #### [Nobel Peace Prize celebrations](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/) > The celebration of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate starts with the 9 December press conference, peaks with the 10 December award ceremony, and is rounded off with the opening of the peace prize exhibition on the 11. - [Award ceremony](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/award-ceremony): The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded on December 10 in a formal ceremony at the Oslo City Hall. The laureate is presented with the Nobel medal and diploma, and is asked to deliver a Nobel lecture. > ![Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133252-1632292194/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/Ceremony_2018_.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Ken Opprann) > Seated on the podium are the Laureate, the Nobel Committee and its secretary. Maintaining a tradition that goes back to 1905, the ceremony is attended by members of the Royal Family. The rows of seats behind the Royal Family are occupied by representatives of the Government, the Storting, the Corps Diplomatique and other specially invited guests. > It has become tradition for the award ceremony to take place in a setting of speeches and artistic performances. In the first speech, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee presents the Laureate and accounts for the Committee's choice. The chairman then calls upon the Laureate to come forward and be presented with the Nobel diploma and the Nobel medal. The presentation of the award is followed by the Laureate's speech, the so-called Nobel lecture. This gives the Laureate the opportunity to deliver a full and personal statement of his or her message of peace. > The award ceremony has not always taken place in the City Hall. In the earliest years, from 1901 to 1904, the award was presented in the Storting. From 1905 up to and including 1946 (there were no awards during the world wars), the presentation took place at the Nobel Institute. From 1947 to 1989, the ceremony was held in the Aula of the University of Oslo. When that venue gradually became too small, the ceremony was moved to the City Hall. It seats approximately 1 000 guests in addition to the media. - [Banquet](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/banquet): The Nobel Banquet is held at the Grand Hotel in the centre of Oslo on the evening of December 10. > ![Nobel Peace Prize ](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133288-1632292186/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/Banketten_NobelPeace2019_by_JoStraube_188.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Jo Straube) > The solemnities of the Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo City Hall are followed by festivities. At the Nobel , some 250 guests are welcomed by the Nobel Committee before in due course finding their places at the round tables in the banqueting hall - laid for the occasion with the special Nobel dinner service - to enjoy a five-course gourmet meal. > The Laureate's table is right in the middle of the hall. Seated with the Laureate are the members of the Nobel Committee, the President of the Storting, the Prime Minister, and - since 2006 - the King and Queen. Other guests include Ministers, members of the Storting, and representatives of public institutions, idealistic organizations, and cultural and commercial life. As well as a number of the Laureate's personal guests. > Traditionally, three speeches are given at the Nobel . After the chair of the Nobel Committee's words of welcome, the deputy chairman speaks in honour of the Laureate, often giving the address a humorous slant. The Laureate speaks second. Finally the President of the Storting delivers an after-dinner speech. > The Nobel was formerly held in alternate years at the Grand Hotel and Hotel Bristol, but is now always held at the Grand Hotel, which also has a special Nobel suite. - [Press conference](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/press-conference): The press conference with the Nobel Peace Prize laureates is held in the Grand Hall at the Norwegian Nobel Institute on 9 December. > ![](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133225-1632292215/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/Press%20conference_2018.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Ken Opprann) > Each year, the Nobel Peace Prize laureates give a press conference at the Norwegian Nobel Institute on 9 December, the day before the award ceremony. It is held in the same room as the announcement in October - the Grand Hall. Immediately after the press conference, the laureates meet the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the committee room and sign their guest book. - [Interview](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/interview): A live televised interview takes place in the Oslo City Hall. > ![](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133718-1632291973/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/20181210_js_31131.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Jo Straube) > The Nobel Peace Prize laureates give a live televised interview in the presence of a young audience in the Oslo City Hall on December 10. Since 2016, the interview has been conducted by Al Jazeera. The laureates also answer some questions from the audience. - [Nobel Peace Prize Forum](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/nobel-peace-prize-forum): On 11 December every year the Nobel Peace Prize Forum is held in the Oslo University Aula. > ![](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133324-1632292172/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/The_Nobel_Peace_Prize_Forum_33.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Ken Opprann) > The Forum brings together a unique constellation of Nobel Peace Prize laureates and other international thought-leaders; representatives of governments and international organizations; scholars; civil society leaders and activists, business and private sector actors; journalists; and youth across the globe, including students. > Serving as an arena for interdisciplinary discussion and reflection on pivotal and timely issues of importance to international peace and security, the Forum assembles 500 participants at the Oslo University Aula - an historic and iconic hall in central Oslo adorned with original paintings by expressionist painter Edvard Munch. > Follow this link for more information on the . - [Exhibition opening](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/exhibition-opening): Nobel Peace Center's yearly Nobel Peace Prize exhibition is opened by the laureates on 11 December. > ![](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135477-1651742509/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/NPC%20Utstillings%C3%A5pning%20vinner%202021-26.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg Photo: Johannes Granseth / Nobels Fredssenter) > Each year the Nobel Peace Center commissions artists to create the Nobel Peace Prize exhibition. The exhibition is opened by the laureates themselves on the 11 December. - [Save the Children Peace Prize Party](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/save-the-children-peace-prize-party): Children celebrate the laureates at the Nobel Peace Center in the morning of December 10th. > ![Save the Children's Peace Prize Party](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133665-1632293673/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/NPC%20Barnas%20fredsprisfest%20og%20visning%20av%20seremoni-62.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Peace Center. Photo: Johannes Granseth) > In the morning of 10 December, the Nobel Peace Prize laureates meet children at Save the Children's annual Peace Prize Party. The show is made by and for children, honouring the laureates. - [Torchlight procession](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/about-the-nobel-peace-prize/nobel-peace-prize-celebrations/torchlight-procession): There is a tradition for a torchlight parade in honour of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates. > ![Torchlight parade](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133342-1632292152/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Celebrations%20timeline/Torchlights_2019.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Jo Straube) > The torchlight procession has started different places, but is now starting at the Nobel Peace Center. However, it always ends up in front of the Grand Hotel, where the laureates greet the parade from the balcony of the Nobel Suite. > The first ever torchlight procession was organized by Norwegian students in 1954 in honour of Albert Schweitzer who was in Oslo to give his Nobel Lecture. The latest years, the parade has been organised by the Norwegian Peace Coucil. ### [History](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/) > The Nobel Peace Prize and the other Nobel Prizes were established by the Swedish inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel through his last will. - [Alfred Nobel](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel): Alfred Nobel's family descended from Olof Rudbeck, the most famous scientist in Sweden in the 17th century. Alfred was fluent in several languages. > ![Painting of ](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133207-1631004973/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/History/Photo%3A%20Alexander%20Mahmoud.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg Photo: Alexander Mahmoud) > Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Stockholm on 21 October 1833. The menfolk of the family were engineers and businessmen. In 1842, Alfred moved with his mother and brothers to St. Petersburg, where his father Immanuel Nobel had opened an armaments factory a few years prior. He manufactured landmines for the Tsar's army, and made good profits. Alfred did not attend school but received private tutoring from good teachers. He was quick to master four foreign languages, and showed great ability in the natural sciences, especially chemistry. > The end of the Crimean War in 1856 had unfortunate results for Immanuel Nobel and his family: the factory went bankrupt. The parents and their youngest son Emil returned home to Sweden; the three older boys stayed in St. Petersburg to see if they could get the business back on a sound footing. It was at this time that began to take an interest in nitroglycerine - an extremely explosive liquid invented by the Italian Ascanio Sobrero. Nobel saw that there was a lot of money to be made from industrial exploitation of the explosive, provided a safer way could be found of handling it. In 1863, after extensive experimentation, he came up with a promising blend of nitroglycerine and black powder, which he marketed as "blasting oil". On it he obtained the first of a total of 355 patents. It marked the first step on the road to what was to prove his greatest success: the invention of dynamite. > patented the nitroglycerine-based explosive dynamite in 1867. In the following year, he received an honorary award from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for "important inventions for the practical use of mankind". He was extremely proud of that prize. The experience was certainly an important source of inspiration for the science prizes he was later to establish in his own name. > By this time was already establishing himself as a successful industrialist and businessman, first in Europe and then in the USA. Despite several setbacks - the most tragic was the disastrous explosion at Nobel's explosives factory in Stockholm in 1864 which cost his younger brother Emil his life - he gradually became one of the wealthiest men of his day. > As an inventor and man of business, was both determined and confident. On the personal level however, he was modest, almost shy. He has been described as a lonely and restless brooder who was often ill, who never wanted or had the opportunity to found a family of his own. He could be tough and cynical in his business dealings, and was in his own words at the same time both a misanthrope and a "superidealist". He loved literature, had written poems and a play in his earlier years, and built up a large book collection. Here lay the seeds of his decision to set up a literature prize to be awarded to the author of the best work "of an idealistic tendency". > But his idealism also had a political aspect: supported those who spoke up against militarism and war, and wanted to make a contribution to work for disarmament and the peaceful solution of international conflicts. In this respect, the Austrian author and peace activist Bertha von Suttner exercised considerable influence on him. They were close friends and corresponded for many years. There is reason to believe that the establishment of the Nobel Peace Prize was principally inspired by her. > It took several years to complete the drawing up of his will https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel-s-will. The final version, dated 27 November 1895, laid down that the bulk of his immense fortune https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel-s-fortune should be reserved for a fund for the financing of annual honorary awards to be made in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature and peace. > The contents of the will only became known after his death. > lived much of his adult life in Paris. In 1891 he moved to San Remo, Italy. A few years later, he bought the Bofors ironworks and armaments factories, had a splendid mansion erected in Karlskoga, and gradually prepared to move home to Sweden for good, despite a hearty dislike of the Nordic winter. That is not how things turned out, however. On December 10, 1896, died suddenly in his home in San Remo. - [Alfred Nobel's fortune](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel-s-fortune): When the Swedish businessman and inventor Alfred Nobel passed away in 1896, he left behind what was then one of the world’s largest private fortunes. > In his will https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel-s-will, Alfred Nobel https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel determined that his assets should be invested in a fund consisting of safe securities. That meant that Nobel's worldwide interests in industrial enterprises would have to be liquidated. This demanding task was carried out by Nobel's young assistant Ragnar Sohlman and the engineer Rudolf Lilljequist. They soon joined forces with the young Swedish lawyer and peace activist Carl Lindhagen. > Most of the assets proved to be linked to Nobel's holdings in the Russian oil company Baku Petroleum and a hundred or so ammunition and dynamite factories in Europe, North and South America, Australia and South Africa. Nobel also had substantial shareholdings in various mining companies, including gold mines, as well as revenues from his 355 international patents. In addition he owned a yacht - the first in the world with an aluminium keel - a stud farm for riding horses, and three valuable properties: the villa Mio Nido in San Remo, an apartment in Paris, and the villa Björkborn in Karlskoga (where he never took up residence). > A particular problem was that the bulk of Nobel's securities and cash reserves were deposited in French banks in Paris, which could make it difficult for the estate to gain control of the assets without becoming subject to French inheritance tax. Sohlman solved the problem by single-handedly and in complete secrecy taking the securities out of the country - reputedly with a loaded pistol in his coat pocket just in case. The securities were then sold in London and Stockholm. > The fund acquired a total of SEK 31.5 million - a considerable amount given the value of the krone at the time. The money was then invested in so-called "gilt-edged bonds". The annual yield was to be spent on financing the five Nobel Prizes and the administration of the prize-awarding committees. With effect from 1900, responsibility for managing the assets Nobel had left was transferred to the newly-established Nobel Foundation in Stockholm. > The nominal value of the individual Prizes awarded in 1901 was SEK 150,782 - close to 9 million Swedish crowns at 2016 rates. By the time of the centenary in 2001, the value of the Prize had risen to SEK 10 million, the highest amount ever both nominally and in real terms. In 2017 the value of the Peace Prize is 9 million Swedish crowns. - [Alfred Nobel's will](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel-s-will): Alfred Nobel was very interested in cultural and peace-related issues, and the prizes he established reflect this: ."...to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind." > ![First paragraph of ](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133216-1631004385/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/History/forste_avsn.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg ) > On November 27, 1895, in Paris, Alfred Bernhard Nobel https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel signed his will. After his death in December 1896, many people tensely awaited the publication of the contents of the will, since it was widely known that Nobel had left one of the world's largest private fortunes https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/alfred-nobel-s-fortune. To the great disappointment of some of his relatives and friends, he declared the following last will: Short version > "The whole of my remaining realisable estate shall be disposed of in the following way: the capital, invested in safe securities by my executors, shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually awarded as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The interest shall be divided into five equal parts, to be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or invention; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who in the field of literature shall have produced the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses. The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; for physiological or medical works by the Caroline Institute in Stockholm; for literature by the Academy in Stockholm, and for advocates of peace by a committee of five persons to be selected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that in the awarding of the prizes no consideration shall be given to national affiliations of any kind, so that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be Scandinavian or not." > Click to read the testament in full text. https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/full-text-of-alfred-nobels-will-2/ > ...and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses. > The will of Alfred Nobel from 27 November, 1895 Contested will > Some of the relatives sought to have the will declared invalid, and to begin with they had the support of King Oscar II, who held that family claims could not be set aside on the grounds of the aging Alfred Nobel's fanciful ideas. There were moreover many among Sweden's conservatives who hoped to see the realisation of the will prevented because it was "unpatriotic" - the prizes ought to have been reserved for Swedes. Approved will > Following long and difficult negotiations, in which the Swedish Government was also involved, the executors Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist finally succeeded in untangling the legal knots. On June 29, 1900, King Oscar II approved the statutes of the newly established Nobel Foundation.This meant that Alfred Nobel's grand vision could finally come to fruition. On December 10, 1901, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm and Oslo. - [Why Norway?](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/history/why-norway): No one knows for sure why Alfred Nobel wanted the Peace Prize in particular to be awarded by a Norwegian committee - or what prompted him to include Norway in the Nobel Prize proceedings at all. > In his article The Nobel Peace Prize, 1901-2000 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/themes/the-nobel-peace-prize-1901-2000/, former secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and director of the Nobel Institute, Geir Lundestad, summarizes the most frequent educated guesses about Alfred Nobel's possible motivations for asking the Norwegian Storting to select members for the Nobel Peace Prize awarding committee. > "Nobel left no explanation as to why the prize for peace was to be awarded by a Norwegian committee while the other four prizes were to be handled by Swedish committees. On this point, therefore, we are dealing only with educated inferences. These are some of the most likely ones: Nobel, who lived most of his life abroad and who wrote his will at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, may have been influenced by the fact that, until 1905, Norway was in union with Sweden. Since the scientific prizes were to be awarded by the most competent, i.e. Swedish, committees at least the remaining prize for peace ought to be awarded by a Norwegian committee. Nobel may have been aware of the strong interest of the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) in the peaceful solution of international disputes in the 1890s. He might have in fact, considered Norway a more peace-oriented and more democratic country than Sweden. Finally, Nobel may have been influenced by his admiration for Norwegian fiction, particularly by the author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1903/summary/, who was a well-known peace activist in the 1890s. Or it may have been a combination of all these factors." (Source: nobelprize.org https://www.nobelprize.org/) ### [Nomination](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/nomination/) > Each year the Norwegian Nobel Committee receives several hundred nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. - [Confidentiality](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/nomination/confidentiality): Proposals received for the award of a prize, and investigations and opinions concerning the award of a prize, may not be divulged until 50 years have elapsed. > The Nobel Committee does not itself announce the names of nominees, neither to the media nor to the candidates themselves. In certain cases names of candidates appear in the media. These advanced surmises are either the product of sheer speculation or information released by the person or persons behind the nomination. > Neither the names of nominators nor of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize may be divulged until the start of the year marking the 50th anniversary of the awarding of a particular prize. > Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, § 10, states: > "A prize-awarding body may, however, after due consideration in each individual case, permit access to material which formed the basis for the evaluation and decision concerning a prize, for purposes of research in intellectual history. Such permission may not, however, be granted until at least 50 years have elapsed after the date on which the decision in question was made." > Requests for access should be directed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Click here https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/library-and-archive/archive/archive for information about the archive and application form. - [Criteria for nominators](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/nomination/criteria-for-nominators): A nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is only considered valid if submitted by a person who meets certain criteria. > According to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is considered valid if it is submitted by a person who falls within one of the following categories, a personal application for an award will not be considered: > Members of national assemblies and national governments (cabinet members/ministers) of sovereign states as well as current heads of state > Members of The International Court of Justice in The Hague and The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague > Members of l'Institut de Droit International > Members of the International Board of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom > University professors, professors emeriti and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion; university rectors and university directors (or their equivalents); directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes > Persons who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize > Members of the main board of directors or its equivalent of organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize > Current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (proposals by current members of the Committee to be submitted no later than at the first meeting of the Committee after 1 February) > Former advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Committee > Unless otherwise stated the term 'members' shall be understood as current (sitting) members. > *These criteria were revised in April 2018* - [The nomination and decision-making process](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-peace-prize/nomination/the-nomination-process): The nomination process is an eight-month screening and decision-making process. > ![The nomination process step by step](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/134652-1632472965/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Nomination/Nominasjonsprosess%20nettsider.png%20%28custom_size%29.png ) > **Limited nomination period** > The online form for nominating candidates for next year’s prize is opened in mid-October, with the deadline for submission on 31 January. . > **Sorting and validation** > Nominations are sorted, and all nominations received are checked for validity. > **Committee hand-over** > Valid nominations submitted by the January 31 deadline are handed over to the Nobel Committee in mid-February. > **Short-list** > The Nobel Committee reviews all valid nominations and prepares a short-list for further examination. > **External analysis** > Candidate reports are submitted by the Committee's permanent advisers and other Norwegian or international experts. > **Deliberations** > The Committee meets regularly from mid-February through September to discuss and steadily narrow the field of candidates. > **The Committee decides** > The Norwegian Nobel Committee decides who will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. > **Announcement** > The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is announced on the Friday of the first full week of October. > In practice, the nomination process lasts from mid-October, when the submission form is posted, till the deadline on 31. January. The nominations are carefully screened for validity, before a long list of nominations is presented to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose members may also nominate themselves in their first meeting. With nomination closed, the decision-making process gets underway. > The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-committee/the-norwegian-nobel-committee is the decision-makers. It meets regularly from the latter half of February, goes meticulously through all nominations, and selects those which it want to consider more carefully. The selected candidates are then assessed by independent experts, who prepare detailed reports that are circulated to the committee ahead of its meetings. This is an iterative process, where the list gradually is shortened, and new assessments are solicited in each round. The Committee may, at any stage, reach back and reconsider candidates not shortlisted, as long as there is a valid nomination. By summer, the shortlist is normally cut down to a handful of candidates. > Eventually, sometime between mid-August and late September, the Committee makes its decision. Consensus is common, but it a simple majority vote is sufficient. The decision is final and without appeal. The name(s) of that year's Nobel Peace Prize Laureate(s) is then announced. > The annual Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony takes place in the Oslo City Hall on 10 December. At the ceremony, the the Nobel Lecture is delivered by the Laureate(s), and the Laureate(s) receives the Nobel Medal and Diploma. ## [Library and archive](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/library-and-archive/) > The Norwegian Nobel Institute has a library, and the archives of the Norwegian Nobel Committee ### [Library](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/library-and-archive/library-1/) > The Nobel Institute library is a research library. ### [Search our database](https://bibsys-tz.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=47BIBSYS_NOBEL:NOBEL) ### [Archive](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/library-and-archive/archive/) > Archive of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and The Norwegian Nobel Institute ## [Research](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/) #### [News](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/) - [The 2025 Nobel Symposium on Rethinking Territorial Jurisdiction](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2025-eng?instance=0) - [Say hello to our Visiting Fellows for 2025](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/visiting-fellows-2025) > All of our Visiting Fellows are now settled in at the Research Department at Norwegian Nobel Institute. We look forward to an inspiring and intellectually stimulating time ahead with them. > **Read about the Visiting Fellows here.** http://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/people/visiting-fellows/ > *From left to right: Kim Angell (Research Programme Manager at The Norwegian Nobel Institute), Dan Svanteson (Professor at Bond University Faculty of Law), Ana Tanasoca (Research Fellow in Philosophy at Macquarie University), Martin Jacobson (Research Fellow at Department of Government Uppsala University), David Rischel (Teaching Fellow at Queen Mary University of London), Stephen L. B. Jensen (Senior Researcher at The Danish Institute for Human Rights), Kristian Berg Harpviken (Director at The Norwegian Nobel Institute).* - [First Research Seminar](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/first-research-seminar) > The Research Department will host a series of seminars wherein visiting fellows and affiliated researchers come together to discuss papers that are works-in-progress. The seminars follow a pre-read format, in which the papers are circulated one week in advance to facilitate in-depth discussions and to allow participants to formulate constructive questions for the author. The seminars are held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. > On March 19, the Research Department held its first seminar in this series. > Speakers & Topics: > Ana Tanasoca (Macquarie University): Protecting Humanity's Common Heritage: A Philosophical Framework > Carl Henrik Knutsen (University of Oslo): Surviving and Prospering Despite Difficult Times? Liberal Democracy as a Self-Reinforcing Equilibrium - [Academic Refreshments](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/academic-refreshments) > The Research Department will host a series of events in which a full paper is presented by an affiliated researcher, followed by a Q&A. Immediately afterwards, all participants are invited to a social event with light refreshments (including wine and non-alcoholic beverages) and mingling. The event is held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. > The first event will take place on April 2nd. > **Speaker & Topic:** > **Paulina Ochoa-Espejo** (University of Virginia): “Territory beyond Identity: Indigenous Duty Networks and the Rights of Place” > Abstract: The idea of self-determination is central to territorial rights and it animates both liberal and republican political theories of legitimacy. Yet, in the context of colonial and post-colonial struggles, as well as in the context of climate change, territorial self-determination’s focus on identity and ownership can produce xenophobic violence and undermine the emancipatory goals that it seeks to achieve. This leads to a paradox: either you severe territorial states from nations and compromise the principle of self-determination, or you align nations and identities with state territory and risk ethnic violence in national rectifications. In this article, I mine recent literature on indigenous peoples’ rights as well as recent developments in the political philosophy of territory to break away from this paradox. Rather than focus on identity (whether civic or ethnic), I turn to place: the ground of territory. According to many indigenous scholars, and new approaches in the philosophy of territorial rights, self-determination need not be grounded on individual rights or the rights of individual peoples, but instead it arises from local material practices, and the value of relations that communities establish with the environment. These “rights of place” emerge from networks of obligation that sustain individual and collective self-determination without relying on exclusionary views of territory or individual ownership. Thus, they are compatible with the principles that animate territorial rights, but do not exclude on the basis of identity. This rights-of-place approach explains how communities (including indigenous communities) have had self-determination over territory and natural resources in post-colonial contexts, without running into the traps of post-colonial ethnic or sectarian violence, or secessionism. It thereby opens a space for cooperation on the basis of common concerns for the environment, and limits ethnic and civic exclusionary claims. - [The Teacher's Course](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/the-teacher-s-course) > The Norwegian Nobel Institute has offered Norwegian high school teachers and lecturers in-depth training on current international affairs since 1947. > The two-day seminar is held during the spring, with discussion sessions between each lecture. The presenters are leading experts within their respective academic fields, but the seminars do not require in-depth subject knowledge from the participants. > This year’s Teacher’s Course was titled, “A Year Marked by the Far Right?” and was held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute from 31 March-1 April. > The course focused on the rise of the far right, how we can understand this development, and what significance right-wing extremism has for national, regional, and international politics. Lecturers included Senior Researcher Anders Ravik Jupskås (C-Rex, UiO), Senior Researcher Minda Holm (NUPI), Associate Professor Jacob Ravndal (Politihøgskolen), Associate Professor Ketil Raknes (Kristiania University College), Professor Petter Bae Brandtzæg (UiO) and Associate Professor Cathrine Thorleifsson (UiO). In addition, the Nobel Institute's director, Kristian Berg Harpviken, will provide information about the Peace Prize and the work of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. - [Second Research Seminar](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/second-research-seminar) > On Wednesday, April 23, the Research Department will host its second research seminar at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. > **Speakers & Topics:** > **Steven Jensen** (The Danish Institute for Human Rights): *’To keep watch on the private lives of others’: UN Diplomacy and the Emergence of Tech as an International Human Rights Question, 1968-1975.* > **David Rischel** (Warwick University): *Jurisdiction, functionalism, and the benign annexation objection* - [Third Research Seminar](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/third-research-seminar) > On May 15, the Research Department hosted its third and final research seminar of the spring semester at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. > **Speakers & Topics** > **Martin Jacobsson** (Uppsala University): Title TBA > **Kim Angell** (Norwegian Nobel Institute): “Two Ways to Think about Territory” - [Congratulations to our visiting fellow, Martin Jacobson](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/congratulations-to-our-visiting-fellow-martin-jacobson) > We would like to congratulate our visiting fellow, Martin Jacobson, on being awarded Swepsa’s (The Swedish Political Science Association’s) prize for best PhD thesis 2022-2024! > Martin’s thesis, “Land & Liberty: On the Natural Monopoly of Violence,” explores the relationship between geoism and anarchism, arguing that there is a close isomorphism between the territorial authority of states and private land ownership. Congratulations, Martin! - [Territory Workshop in Fribourg, Switzerland](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/territory-workshop-in-fribourg-switzerland) > Our Research Program Manager, Kim Angell, will be participating in a two-day academic workshop, held June 16–17, in the Department of Philosophy at Université de Fribourg. The event brings together leading scholars in political philosophyworking on territorial rights and theories of justice. The first day consists of invited papers from Margaret Moore (Queen’s University), Jonathan Quong (University of Southern California), Arthur Hill (Queen’s University), Anthony Taylor (Université de Fribourg), and Kim Angell (Norwegian Nobel Institute). The second day features a group discussion of recent work on territorial rights by Margaret Moore. > We look forward to hearing Kim’s reflections from what promises to be a rich and timely academic exchange. - [Norway–Berkeley Political Philosophy Workshop](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/norway-berkeley-political-philosophy-workshop) > Kim Angell, Research Program Manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, is participating in the on June 6–7, hosted at UC Berkeley. > The workshop gathers a distinguished group of scholars including Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, Annie Stilz, Daniel Viehoff, Milan Mosse, Zsolt Kapelner, and others for in-depth discussions on topics ranging from authority and blame to climate governance and territorial rights. > We look forward to Kim’s insights from this engaging academic exchange. - [Workshop: Autocracies as International Lawmakers](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/workshop-autocracies-as-international-lawmakers) > Kim Angell, Research Program Manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, will take part in the opening of the workshop *Autocracies as International Lawmakers*, which will be organised by the University of Oslo and co-supported by the Norwegian Nobel Institute. > The Day 1 public event will feature a panel discussion with leading scholars, including Tom Ginsburg (University of Chicago), Carl Henrik Knutsen (University of Oslo), and Kjersti Lohne (UiO), who will explore the growing role of autocracies in shaping international legal norms. Kim Angell will deliver welcome remarks alongside colleagues from the University of Oslo. > Over the following two days, invited researchers will examine themes such as authoritarian narratives at the UN, autocratic influence in international courts, and the resilience of liberal norms. The workshop will bring together perspectives from law, political science, and international relations to assess the evolving global legal order. - [Contested Frontiers Workshop](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/territory-workshop-in-fribourg-switzerland-1) > Kim Angell, Research Program Manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, will participate in the upcoming *Contested Frontiers* workshop in Bergen on May 13–14. > Organised by the University of Bergen, the workshop will bring together scholars and practitioners to explore legal and political dynamics at contested territorial margins, with a particular focus on Indigenous rights, constitutional adaptation, and settler colonialism. > On Day 2, Kim Angell will present his paper *“States, Cities, and Border Control: Do Sub-State Collectives Have a Right to Protect Vulnerable People on the Move?”* as part of a session examining the role of sub-national entities in addressing global mobility and justice. - [Workshop with Radim Polčák](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/workshop-with-radim-pol-ak) > Radio Polčák will visit the Norwegian Nobel Institute 30 June for a work-in-progress mini-seminar on internet governance, joined by Visiting Research Fellow, Dan Svanteson, and Research Program Manager at the Institute Kim Angell. > The session will explore current challenges and frameworks in global digital regulation. > Learn more about Radio Polčák on his university page https://www.muni.cz/en/people/21177-radim-polcak. - [New Article Published in AJPS](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/news-1/new-article-published-in-ajps): States, cities, and border control: Do sub-state collectives have a right to protect vulnerable people on the move? > Our Research Programme Manager, Kim Angell, has written a new paper on cities and border control. In short, the message is that cities may have a self-determination based right to protect an additional quota of vulnerable people on the move, over and above those protected by the encompassing state. This result is surprising because the appeal to the value of self-determination is typically used by states to justify a right to close their borders. > The paper is now available in Early View online in the American Journal of Political Science. We hope you will check it out here https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajps.12998. > For those of you who do not have access, please let us know, and Kim will be happy to send you a copy via email. #### [Events](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/events/) > Ingress her - [Academic Refreshments - 3rd Edition](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/events/test-event) > The Research Department is hosting a series of events in which a full paper is presented by an affiliated researcher, followed by a Q&A. Immediately afterwards, all participants are invited to a social event with light refreshments (including wine and non-alcoholic beverages) and mingling. The event is held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. This is the third edition of Academic Refreshments. > **Speaker & Topic:** > **Dan Svantesson** (Bond University): “Disentangling jurisdiction and sovereignty from territoriality” > *Abstract: The Internet has the potential to greatly advance fellowship among nations, thereby facilitating one of the criteria Alfred Nobel articulated for the Peace Prize some 130 years ago. However, so far this potential is unfulfilled. In fact, the Internet-driven world of today is further from Nobel’s goal of fellowship among nations than was the pre-Internet era. If we ask why this is so, I suspect the answer is found in that the law has failed to create an environment in which the Internet can reach its potential as a facilitator of fellowship among nations. In this context, the concepts of jurisdiction and sovereignty stand out as two key legal tools that require reform.* > *The seminar expands on a jurisprudential framework for jurisdiction, originally presented ten years ago, as well as a new jurisprudential framework for sovereignty, anchoring sovereignty in the concept of ‘State dignity’. The common feature of these frameworks is that they both represent a move away from territoriality as the core focal point. This is done with the aim of improving how the concepts of jurisdiction and sovereignty work in the online environment,so as to minimise conflicts and friction, and ultimately serve the goal of Cyber peace.* - [Migration History in Nordic, European, and Global Contexts](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/events/migration-history-in-nordic-european-and-global-contexts): The Norwegian Nobel Institute, Oslo, 19-20 August 2025 > Tuesday, August 19 > 09:30 – 09:45 – Welcome & Opening Remarks > **Panel 1: Legal and Institutional Pathways for Movement** > Chair Madeleine Dungy > 09:45 – 10:45 – Part 1 > Ioannis Limnios Sekeris > Mathias Hatleskog Tjønn > 10:45 – 11:00 – Coffee Break > 11:00 – 12:00 – Part 2 > Kasper Eriksen > Monica Miscali > 12:00 – 13:00 – Lunch Break > **Panel 2: Migration and Welfare Systems** > Chair: Hanne Hagtvedt Vik > 13:00 – 14:00 – Part 1 > Mala Loth > Eirinn Larsen > 14:00 – 14:15 – Coffee Break > 14:15 – 15:15 – Part 2 > Diego Alexander Salazar > Selina Breitbach > 15:15 – 15:30 – Coffee Break > **15:30 – 16:30 – Roundtable, Teaching Migration History ** > Chair Anna Mazurkiewicz > Lucia Carminati > Mahama Tawat > Hanne Hagtvedt Vik > Christa Santina Wirth > 7:00 Conference Dinner, location TBD > Wednesday, August 20 > **Migration and Social Cohesion** > Chair: Toufoul Abou Hodeib > 09:30 – 10:30 Part 1 > Anna Mazurkiewicz > Nhi Le > 10:30 – 10:45 – Coffee Break > 10:45 – 11:45 Part 2 > Mahama Tawat > Ida Tolgensbakk > 11:45 – 12:45 – Lunch Break > **12:45 – 13:45 Roundtable, Future Directions of Research ** > Chair Mathias Hatleskog Tjønn > Justyna Katarzyna Bell > Ioannis Limnios Sekeris > Madeleine Dungy > Lucia Carminati > 13:45 – 14:00 – Coffee Break > 14:00 – 15:00 Closing Plenary Discussion - [Roundtable with Maria Ressa](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/events/workshop-autocracies-as-international-lawmakers): Roundtable with Maria Ressa, hosted by the Norwegian Nobel Institute, in collaboration with the Nobel Peace Center, PEN Norway and The International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM). > *Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with our world’s existential problems.* > *- *Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, 2021 > Ressa’s call for action in her 2021 Nobel Lecture seems ever more acute. Since then, attacks on independent journalism and the free press have proliferated across the globe. On a structural level, a growing number of governments and authorities are failing to fulfil their role as guarantors of the public’s right to reliable, independent and diverse news and information. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 2024 marked the deadliest year ever for journalists. Reporters Without Borders identifies a worrying increase in state and political pressure on the media, and in 2025, the global state of press freedom is classified as a “difficult situation” for the first time in the history of the Index. AI undermines trust in information in new and challenging ways. This is a downward cycle, exacerbated by cuts in foreign aid which are expected to have enormous consequences for disinformation around the globe; from Ukraine to Afghanistan, media organizations are being forced to lay off staff or shut down. > Ressa has been described as fighting a war “where the written word is her weapon, where truth is her goal and every exposure of misuse of power is a victory”. What can democratic leaders, civil society, and media organizations do to ensure the survival of independent journalism and uphold a realistic hope of a future where truth will persevere? > ** ** > **Round table discussion: ** > How do we defend information integrity and access to a free, independent press going forward? > *What could be the role of open democracies? More specifically, what should be the role of a country like Norway?* > *What are the prospects for building effective coalitions – between those championing press freedom and freedom of speech – in order to safeguard independent journalism worldwide?* > * * - [Moment of Truth - Conversation with Maria Ressa](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/events/ny-event): A conversation with Maria Ressa on the rollbacks of press freedom in a world with autocracy on the rise. > Tickets, here https://ticket.nobelpeacecenter.org/events/moment-of-truth-a-conversation-with-maria-ressa/ and full program here https://www.nobelpeacecenter.org/en/events/a-conversation-with-maria-ressa. > The Nobel Peace Center, PEN Norway and The International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) invite to a breakfast meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa. > The Filipino American journalist was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021, jointly with the Russian editor Dmitry Muratov, for her “courageous fight for freedom of expression». Ressa, who is co-founder and CEO of Rappler, Professor at Columbia University and co-chair of IFPIM, will share her thoughts on freedom of speech and the role of truth and trust in a world where democracy, press freedom and our information system are under attack. ### [People](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/people/) > Information about permanent staff, visiting fellows, and affiliated researchers at the Norwegian Nobel Institute's research department. - [Kristian Berg Harpviken](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/people/kristian-berg-harpviken-1): Director The Norwegian Nobel Institute > will serve as the Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, and as secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, from 1 January 2025. He is currently a Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and he was the institute’s Director from 2009-2017. Harpviken has devoted his entire career to the study of peace and conflict, and his research interests include peace processes, peacebuilding, the dynamics of civil war, regional security, as well as migration and transnationalism. He has been a visiting researcher at Chicago University and Georgetown University, and an associate at the University of York, the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and the Institute for National Security Studies Sri Lanka. Harpviken is the Director of the PRIO Middle East Centre, but is also known for his competence on Afghanistan and the surrounding region, and he has worked in Angola, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Mozambique, and Pakistan. In addition to experience from leadership positions at various levels, Harpviken has served on numerous boards, both in Norway and internationally, and is currently board chair at the Institute for Social Research and the Tim Greve Symposium. Harpviken is a frequently used media commentator, and lectures regularly to both academic and popular audiences. In addition to his scholarly articles and book chapters, Harpviken is also author of *Social Networks and Migration in Afghanistan *(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), and (with Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh), *A Rock Between Hard Places: Afghanistan as an Arena for Regional Insecurity *(Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2016). - [Kim Angell](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/people/kimangell-1): Affiliate Researcher & Former Research Programme Manager The Norwegian Nobel Institute > is an Affiliate Researcher and a former Research Programme Manager at The Norwegian Nobel Institute. > Kim received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Oslo (UiO) in 2013, specializing in normative political theory. A unifying theme in his research is the nature and justification of political boundaries. He has broad expertise on the territorial rights of states, including rights of jurisdiction, the just distribution of natural resources, and the justifiability of international migration and border control. Another of Kim’s central research areas is democratic theory, where he mainly focuses on foundational issues concerning the nature and justification of democracy. Other research interests include the methodology of political theory and the political philosophy of John Locke. > After receiving his Ph.D., Kim has been Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Political Science (UiO), Visiting Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the University Center for Human Values (Princeton University), and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Research Fellow in the Centre for Philosophy and Public Policy, in the Department of Culture and Learning (Aalborg University). From December 2020 throughout December 2024, Kim held the position as Associate Professor of Political Philosophy (with tenure) at UiT – The Arctic University of Tromsø. He remains affiliated with UiT as a Guest Researcher in the Department of Philosophy. From January 2024 to December 2025, he served as Research Programme Manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. > Kim’s work appears in journals within political science, philosophy, and jurisprudence, such as *American Journal of Political Science*; *Political Studies*; *European Journal of Political Theory*; *Journal of Social Philosophy*; *Ethical Theory and Moral Practice*; *Ratio Juris*; and *Politics, Philosophy, and Economics*. > Kim is currently editing a volume on cyberspace jurisdiction (together with D. Svantesson and J. Hörnle). The book (under contract with Oxford University Press) is based upon papers from Nobel Symposium No. 177, entitled “Rethinking Territorial Jurisdiction: normative perspectives on legislation and enforcement in cyberspace”. > **Selected Publications:** > Angell, Kim (2026): “Kolodny beyond the state: on claims against inferiority and territorial rights”, in *Inquiry*, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2026.2615192 > Angell, Kim (2025): “States, cities, and border control: Do sub-state collectives have a right to protect vulnerable people on the move?”, in *American Journal of Political Science* 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12998. > Angell, Kim (2024): “Should We Increase Young People’s Voting Power?” in *Ethical Theory and Moral Practice*. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-024-10443-2. > Angell, Kim (2023): “Should Rawlsian end-state principles be constrained by popular beliefs about justice?” in *Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy*, 1-23. DOI: 10.1080/13698230.2023.2247313. > Angell, Kim (2021): “New Territorial Rights for Sinking Island States”, in *European Journal of Political Theory*. Vol. 20, No. 1: 95-115. > Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2020): “Secession and Political Capacity”, in *Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy*. DOI: 10.1080/13698230.2020.1851858. > Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2020): “The All-Affected Principle and the Weighting of Votes”, in *Politics, Philosophy & Economics*. Vol. 19, No. 4: 366-381. > Angell, Kim (2020): “A Life Plan Principle of Voting Rights”, in *Ethical Theory and Moral Practice*. Vol. 23, No. 1: 125-139. > Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2019): “Global Luck Egalitarianism and Border Control”, in *Ratio Juris*. Vol. 32, No. 2: 177-192. > Angell, Kim (2019): “Resource Rights: Expanding the Scope of Liberal Theories”, in *Journal of Social Philosophy*. Vol. 50, No. 3: 322-340. > Angell, Kim (2019): “Property and Territorial Rights in Political Philosophy”. In *Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics*. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1384. Oxford University Press. > Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2017): “Should Irregular Immigrants Be (Rapidly) Enfranchised?” in *Political Research Quarterly*, Vol. 70, No. 2: 363-373. > Angell, Kim (2017): “A Forward-Looking Justification of Territorial Rights”, in *Political Studies*. Vol. 65, No. 1: 231-247. - [Robyn E. Hardy](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/people/robynehardy-1): Assistant Research Manager The Norwegian Nobel Institute > is Assistant Research Manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Born and raised in New Orleans, she received her bachelor’s degree in history from Louisiana State University in 2009. She studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo’s Arabic Language Institute from 2007-2008, and she has a master’s degree in modern international and transnational history from the University of Oslo. Her master’s thesis looked at the relation between the ILO (International Labour Organization) and transnational labour movements, specifically the sex workers rights movement. > Hardy has been working at the Norwegian Nobel Institute since 2018. From 2021-2022, she worked on a project aimed at digitizing all declassified nomination letters for the Nobel Peace Prize. This involved scanning, cataloging, writing metadata, and uploading thousands of letters to the Digitalarkivet. The digital archive allows researchers to access the nomination letters from anywhere in the world. Each year, a new set of nomination letters is declassified and made available on the digital archive. > She also serves as the logistics coordinator for the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. #### [AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/people/affiliated-researchers/) - [Hanne Hagtvedt Vik](https://www.hf.uio.no/iakh/english/people/aca/history/tenured/hannehag/index.html): Professor Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo - [Stein Tønnesson](https://www.prio.org/people/3478): Research Professor Emeritus Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) - [Anne Julie Semb](https://www.sv.uio.no/isv/english/people/aca/annejse/index.html): Professor Department of Political Science, University of Oslo - [Julie Wilhelmsen](https://www.nupi.no/en/about-nupi/employees/researchers/julie-wilhelmsen): Research Professor Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) - [Thomas Hegghammer](https://hegghammer.com/): Senior Fellow All Souls College, Oxford University - [Alejandra Mancilla](https://www.hf.uio.no/ifikk/english/people/aca/philosophy/tenured/alejanma/index.html): Professor Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas, University of Oslo - [Hilde Henriksen Waage](https://www.hf.uio.no/iakh/english/people/aca/history/tenured/hildehen/index.html): Professor Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo - [Jakob Elster](https://www.jus.uio.no/smr/english/people/aca/jakobel/index.html): Professor Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo - [Cathrine Holst](https://www.hf.uio.no/ifikk/english/people/aca/philosophy/tenured/cathho/index.html): Professor Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas, University of Oslo - [Robert Huseby](https://www.sv.uio.no/isv/english/people/aca/roberthu/): Professor Department of Political Science, University of Oslo - [Nina Reiners](https://www.jus.uio.no/smr/english/people/aca/nire/index.html): Associate Professor Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo - [Kristoffer Lidén](https://www.prio.org/people/5134): Research Director Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) - [Carl Henrik Knutsen](https://www.sv.uio.no/isv/english/people/aca/carlhk/index.html): Professor Department of Political Science, University of Oslo - [Jørgen Jensehaugen](https://www.prio.org/people/5841): Research Professor Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) - [Ada Nissen](https://www.hf.uio.no/iakh/english/people/aca/history/tenured/adaen/): Associate Professor of History Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History (IAKH) - [Dan Svanteson](https://bond.edu.au/profile/dan-svantesson): Professor Bond University Faculty of Law - [Henrik Urdal](https://www.prio.org/people/3473): Research Professor Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) - [Kim Angell](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/people/kimangell-1): Affiliate Researcher & Former Research Programme Manager The Norwegian Nobel Institute > is an Affiliate Researcher and a former Research Programme Manager at The Norwegian Nobel Institute. > Kim received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Oslo (UiO) in 2013, specializing in normative political theory. A unifying theme in his research is the nature and justification of political boundaries. He has broad expertise on the territorial rights of states, including rights of jurisdiction, the just distribution of natural resources, and the justifiability of international migration and border control. Another of Kim’s central research areas is democratic theory, where he mainly focuses on foundational issues concerning the nature and justification of democracy. Other research interests include the methodology of political theory and the political philosophy of John Locke. > After receiving his Ph.D., Kim has been Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Political Science (UiO), Visiting Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the University Center for Human Values (Princeton University), and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Research Fellow in the Centre for Philosophy and Public Policy, in the Department of Culture and Learning (Aalborg University). From December 2020 throughout December 2024, Kim held the position as Associate Professor of Political Philosophy (with tenure) at UiT – The Arctic University of Tromsø. He remains affiliated with UiT as a Guest Researcher in the Department of Philosophy. From January 2024 to December 2025, he served as Research Programme Manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. > Kim’s work appears in journals within political science, philosophy, and jurisprudence, such as *American Journal of Political Science*; *Political Studies*; *European Journal of Political Theory*; *Journal of Social Philosophy*; *Ethical Theory and Moral Practice*; *Ratio Juris*; and *Politics, Philosophy, and Economics*. > Kim is currently editing a volume on cyberspace jurisdiction (together with D. Svantesson and J. Hörnle). The book (under contract with Oxford University Press) is based upon papers from Nobel Symposium No. 177, entitled “Rethinking Territorial Jurisdiction: normative perspectives on legislation and enforcement in cyberspace”. > Selected Publications: > Angell, Kim (2026): “Kolodny beyond the state: on claims against inferiority and territorial rights”, in *Inquiry*, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2026.2615192 > Angell, Kim (2025): “States, cities, and border control: Do sub-state collectives have a right > to protect vulnerable people on the move?”, in *American Journal of Political Science* 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12998. > Angell, Kim (2024): “Should We Increase Young People’s Voting Power?” in *Ethical Theory and Moral Practice*. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-024-10443-2. > Angell, Kim (2023): “Should Rawlsian end-state principles be constrained by popular beliefs about justice?” in *Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy*, 1-23. DOI: 10.1080/13698230.2023.2247313. > Angell, Kim (2021): “New Territorial Rights for Sinking Island States”, in *European Journal of Political Theory*. Vol. 20, No. 1: 95-115. > Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2020): “Secession and Political Capacity”, in *Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy*. DOI: 10.1080/13698230.2020.1851858. > Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2020): “The All-Affected Principle and the Weighting of Votes”, in *Politics, Philosophy & Economics*. Vol. 19, No. 4: 366-381. > Angell, Kim (2020): “A Life Plan Principle of Voting Rights”, in *Ethical Theory and Moral Practice*. Vol. 23, No. 1: 125-139. > Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2019): “Global Luck Egalitarianism and Border Control”, in *Ratio Juris*. Vol. 32, No. 2: 177-192. > Angell, Kim (2019): “Resource Rights: Expanding the Scope of Liberal Theories”, in *Journal of Social Philosophy*. Vol. 50, No. 3: 322-340. > Angell, Kim (2019): “Property and Territorial Rights in Political Philosophy”. In *Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics*. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1384. Oxford University Press. > Angell, Kim and Robert Huseby (2017): “Should Irregular Immigrants Be (Rapidly) Enfranchised?” in *Political Research Quarterly*, Vol. 70, No. 2: 363-373. > Angell, Kim (2017): “A Forward-Looking Justification of Territorial Rights”, in *Political Studies*. Vol. 65, No. 1: 231-247. ### [Visiting Fellows Program](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/) > The Norwegian Nobel Institute houses a research unit which assists the Nobel Committee and conducts independent research and dissemination of information throughout the year. #### [Visiting Fellows](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/visiting-fellows/) - [Dan Jerker B. Svantesson](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/visiting-fellows/dan-jerker-b-svantesson): Professor Bond University Faculty of Law > Dan Svantesson is a Professor at the Bond University Faculty of Law, and a Co-Director for the Centre for Space, Cyberspace and Data Law. He is a Senior Fellow at the Social Cyber Institute, and an Associated Researcher at the Swedish Law & Informatics Research Institute, Stockholm University. He specialises in international aspects of the IT society and has published a range of books and articles on that topic and beyond, and given presentations in Australia, Asia, Africa, North America, and Europe. > Professor Svantesson held an ARC Future Fellowship (2012-2016) and was the inaugural Managing Editor for International Data Privacy Law, published by Oxford University Press. He is a Member of the Editorial Boards for several journals, including the Commonwealth Cybercrime Journal, the International Cybersecurity Law Review, the International Journal of Law and Information Technology, the Commonwealth Law Bulletin, the International Review of Law Computers and Technology, the Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology and the Computer Law and Security Review. > Professor Svantesson has contributed to commissioned reports by several international organisations including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, OECD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network. He has been identified as the Field Leader for “Technology Law” in a study published by League of Scholars together with The Australian for four years (2021, 2020, 2019, 2018). > During his fellowship at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Professor Svantesson’s will aim to develop a set of ready-to-implement (‘plug and play’) model provisions addressing jurisdiction and sovereignty suitable for being incorporated in international instruments. Selected Publications: > Private International Law and the Internet 4th Ed, Kluwer Law International (2021) (836 pages) > Solving the Internet Jurisdiction Puzzle, Oxford University Press (2017) (288 pages) > Information Sovereignty – Data Privacy, Sovereign Powers and the Rule of Law, Edward Elgar Publishing (2017) (with Radim Polcak) (268 pages) > Extraterritoriality in Data Privacy Law, Ex Tuto Publishing (2013) (240 pages) > Adoption of Artificial Intelligence Systems for Judicial Decision-Making in Criminal Justice Systems, Commonwealth Secretariat (September 2021) (24 pages) > (With multiple co-authors) Developing Concept of Sovereignty: Considerations for Defence Operations in Cyberspace and Outer Space, Australian Defence Strategic Policy Grants Program (July 2021) (88 pages) > Data localisation trends and challenges: Considerations for the review of the Privacy Guidelines, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 301, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/7fbaed62-en https://doi.org/10.1787/7fbaed62-en (December 2020) (44 pages) > Internet & Jurisdiction Global Status Report 2019, Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network (November 2019) (184 pages) > (With Michal Czerniawski) Challenges to the extraterritorial enforcement of data privacy law – EU case study, in Daniel Westman et al., (eds.), Dataskyddet 50 år – historia, aktuella problem och framtid (2023) pp. 127-154 > A Starting Point for Re-thinking 'Sovereignty' for the Online Environment, in Anupam Chander & Haochen Sun (eds.), Data Sovereignty: From the Digital Silk Road to the Return of the State, Oxford University Press (2023) pp. 49-71 > Global speech regulation: extraterritoriality in the context of internet content blocking, removal, de-listing, and must carry orders, in Austen Parrish & Cedric Ryngaert (eds.), Research Handbook on Extraterritoriality in International Law, Edward Elgar Publishing (2023) pp. 459-476 > Is International Law Ready for the (Already Ongoing) Digital Age: Perspectives from Private and Public International Law, in Preadviezen: International Law for a Digital World: Collected Papers 147, Asser Press (2020) pp. 113-155 > Internet Jurisdiction and Intermediary Liability, in Giancarlo Frosio (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Online Intermediary Liability, Oxford University Press (2020) pp. 691-708 > Article 3. Territorial Scope, in Christopher Kuner et al. (eds), The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): A Commentary, Oxford University Press (2020) pp. 74-99 > Legal Theories of Private International Law: Overview and Practical Implications for Internet Regulation, in Patrik Lindskoug et al., (eds.), Essays in Honour of Michael Bogdan, Juristförlaget i Lund (2013); 539-555 > Cross-border internet defamation conflicts and what to do about them: Two proposals, Journal of Private International Law Vol 19 No 2 (2023) (With Symeon C. Symeonides); pp. 137-185 > Regulating a “Cyber Militia” – Some Lessons from Ukraine, and Thoughts about the Future", Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, 6(1) (2023), pp. 86–101 > (With Samuli Haataja, Danielle Ireland-Piper & Kuan-Wei Chen) On sovereignty, Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology 17(1) (2023) pp. 33-85 > “Scope of Jurisdiction” – A Key Battleground for Private International Law Applied to the Internet, Yearbook of Private International Law, Volume 22 (2020/2021), pp. 245-274 > ‘Lagom jurisdiction’ – What Viking drinking etiquette can teach us about Internet jurisdiction and Google France, Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology 12(1) (2018) pp. 29-47 > Jurisdiction in 3D – “scope of (remedial) jurisdiction” as a third dimension of jurisdiction, Journal of Private International Law Vol 12 No 1 (2016); pp. 60-76 > A Jurisprudential Justification for Extraterritoriality in (Private) International Law, Santa Clara Journal of International Law 13(2) (2015) pp. 517-571 > The Extraterritoriality of EU Data Privacy Law - Its Theoretical Justification and Its Practical Effect on U.S. Businesses, Stanford Journal of International Law 50(1) (2014); pp. 53-102 > A “layered approach” to the extraterritoriality of data privacy laws, International Data Privacy Law (2013) 3(4); pp. 278-286 > A legal method for solving issues of Internet regulation; applied to the regulation of cross-border privacy issues, European University Institute Working Paper LAW2010/18 (57 pages) > Borders on, or border around – the future of the Internet, Albany Law Journal of Science & Technology, Vol. 16 No. 2 (2006); pp. 343 – 381 > Geo-location technologies and other means of placing borders on the ‘borderless’ Internet, John Marshall Journal of Computer & Information Law, Vol XXIII, No 1, Fall 2004; pp. 101 – 139 > A Vision for the Future of Private International Law and the Internet – Can Artificial Intelligence Succeed Where Humans Have Failed?, Harvard International Law Journal Online (4 August, 2019) https://harvardilj.org/2019/08/a-vision-for-the-future-of-private-international-law-and-the-internet-can-artificial-intelligence-succeed-where-humans-have-failed/ https://harvardilj.org/2019/08/a-vision-for-the-future-of-private-international-law-and-the-internet-can-artificial-intelligence-succeed-where-humans-have-failed/ > A New Jurisprudential Framework for Jurisdiction: Beyond the Harvard Draft, 109 American Journal of International Law Unbound 69 (2015) https://www.asil.org/blogs/new-jurisprudential-framework-jurisdiction-beyond-harvard-draft https://www.asil.org/blogs/new-jurisprudential-framework-jurisdiction-beyond-harvard-draft - [Steven L. B. Jensen](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/visiting-fellows/steven-l-b-jensen): Senior Researcher The Danish Institute for Human Rights > is Senior Researcher at The Danish Institute for Human Rights. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Copenhagen. He is author of The Making of International Human Rights. The 1960s, Decolonization and the Reconstruction of Global Values (Cambridge UP 2016) which in 2017 was awarded the prizes both for Best Book on Human Rights and the Chadwick Alger Prize for Best Book on International Organisation from the International Studies Association. He has published widely on topics such as global health, human rights, global inequality, decolonization, the United Nations and genocide. His current book project is a history of social and economic rights in 20th century international politics. > Steven is the co-editor of Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History with Charles Walton (Cambridge UP 2022) and Histories of Global Inequality: New Perspectives with Christian O. Christiansen (Palgrave Macmillan 2019). He has also co-edited two special issues of The Nordic Journal of Human Rights: “Nordic Histories of Human Rights” (2018) and “The Domestic Institutionalization of Human Rights” (2019). His work has appeared in Human Rights Quarterly, Oxford Handbook on Economic and Social Rights, Cambridge History of Rights vol. I-V. > Before joining The Danish Institute for Human Rights, he previously held positions with UNAIDS and The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also been a visiting researcher at Yale Law School, History Faculty, University of Oxford, The Bonavero Institute for Human Rights, University of Oxford and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Steven has been a contributor to Open Global Rights and the South African newspaper Daily Maverick (2019-2023). In 2024, he was appointed as member of the Danish Expert Group on Global Health under the Alliance for Global Health. > During his fellowship at The Norwegian Nobel Institute, Steven will work on a project focusing on the UN debates on human rights and tech from 1968 to 1975 where the topic appeared on the international human rights agenda. The project’s working title is: “’To keep watch on the private lives of others’: UN Diplomacy and the Emergence of Tech as an International Human Rights Question, 1968-1975.” Selected publications: > & Kathryn Sikkink (2025), “Latin American and Caribbean contributions to human rights law”, Latin American International Law in the 21st Century, edited by Alejandro Chehtman, Alexandra Huneeus, and Sergio Puig. Oxford University Press. > (2025), ”Une nouvelle « génération » de droits de l'homme? Les droits et libertés numériques vus dans une perspective historique et critique », Collection « Droit et Société », edited by Pauline Türk. > (2023), 'Writing Political Histories of International Human Rights Law https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/research-handbook-on-the-politics-of-human-rights-law-9781789908824.html' in Bård A. Andreassen, Research Handbook on the Politics of Human Rights Law, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 61-78. > & Charles Walton (2022), “Not Second Generation Rights: Rethinking Economic and Social Rights History, in Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-rights-and-the-politics-of-obligation-in-history/D9363DE5E8A79182A3220DD7BDC67472, ed. by and Charles Walton. Cambridge University Press, p. 1-25. > (2021), ''Human Rights Against Human Arbitrariness': Pandemics in a Human Rights Historical Perspective' https://www.routledge.com/COVID-19-and-Human-Rights/Kjaerum-Davis-Lyons/p/book/9780367688035 in Covid-19 and Human Rights, ed. by Morten Kjærum, Martha F. Davis and Amanda Lyons, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 3-18. > (2020), “’From this era of passionate self-discovery’: Norman Manley, Human Rights and the End of Colonial Rule in Jamaica”, in Decolonization, Self-Determination and the Birth of Global Human Rights Politics https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/decolonization-selfdetermination-and-the-rise-of-global-human-rights-politics/A2F3E578CB65175D2C7532E868E8A04F, ed. by Roland Burke, Marco Duranti and Dirk Moses, Cambridge University Press, p. 236-261. > (2019), 'Inequality and Post-war International Organisation: Discrimination, the World Social Situation and the United Nations, 1948-1957' in Jensen, Steven L. B. and C.O. Christiansen (eds.), Histories of Global Inequality: New Perspectives https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-19163-4?fbclid=IwAR2sYuOyi_mv7sxcX0u4AulmVFeFaBYal77Gt2HEA2OAsOXHliLePMajB6M#to, Palgrave Macmillan, p. 131-155. > (2016). The Making of International Human Rights: The 1960s, Decolonization and the Reconstruction of Global Values https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/making-of-international-human-rights/149CD81E02FFE3D2DE3F715D687C5B9C. Cambridge University Press. > (2016), “The Politics of Meaning: The 1975 Helsinki Final Act and the Legacy of UN Human Rights Diplomacy”, The Long 1970s. New Perspectives on the Epoch-Making Decade, ed by. Poul Villaume et al. Routledge. London. - [Ana Tanasoca](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/visiting-fellows/ana-tanasoca): Research Fellow in Philosophy Macquarie University > Dr. is an analytic, normative political theorist. Her research focuses largely (but not exclusively) on international political theory and democracy theory, broadly construed. She most recently became interested in the ethics and politics of heritage. > Ana took her PhD for a thesis on the Ethics of Multiple Citizenship, subsequently published by Cambridge University Press (2018). She was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy & Global Governance, at the University of Canberra. There she worked with John S. Dryzek on a project examining the decision process leading up to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals from the joint perspective of global justice and deliberative democracy. Dryzek and Tanasoca coauthored a book growing out of this project entitled Democratizing Global Justice (CUP, 2021). Ana’s interest in democratic theory also led to a separate, independent research project on scaling up deliberative democracy, culminating in the publication of Deliberation Naturalized: Improving Real Existing Deliberative Democracy (OUP, 2020). She held research positions in the Philosophy Department at Macquarie University in Sydney, as a Macquarie Research Fellow and subsequently an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Awardee. Ana’s articles have been published in venues ranging from Journal of Political Philosophy, Political Philosophy, International Theory, Ethics & International Affairs to Perspectives on Politics, Human Rights Review, and the European Journal of Sociology. > She is currently working on a book project on the concept of common heritage of mankind, a principle with broad (but so far shallow) application in international law. That principle supposedly governs the status and management of Antarctica, the high seas and deep seabed, the outer space, moon and other celestial bodies, and (to a lesser extent) natural and cultural patrimony. But the principle still awaits proper philosophical foundations. During her stay at the Nobel Institute, Ana’s research will focus on how to implement moral duties to preserve the common heritage of mankind (as justified and elaborated in my work-in-progress) in international and domestic law and global governance. - [Martin Jacobson](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/visiting-fellows/martin-jacobson): Research Fellow Department of Government Uppsala University > Dr. ’s research focuses on the political theory of geoism, also known as left-libertarianism. Geoism combines both economic and normative theory critiquing the private appropriation of the economic rents from land. Economically, geoists argue that such appropriation is a major cause of systematic economic inequality and poverty. Normatively, geoists argue that such appropriation is inherently unjust since no one created the land. Hence, geoists argue that the economic value of land should belong to everyone equally and that taxes should be shifted from wages and savings to land values. > Martin defended his Ph.D. thesis Land & Liberty: On the Natural Monopoly of Violence at the Department of Government at Uppsala University in 2024. The thesis explores the relationship between geoism and anarchism. The main argument of the thesis is that there is a close isomorphism between the territorial authority of states and private landownership. Hence, the geoist critique of landownership extends to a critique of territorial state authority, while the anarchist critique of state authority extends to a critique of landownership. Finally, the thesis inquires to what extent geoism and anarchism could be reconciled with each other. > During his fellowship at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Martin will inter alia develop aspects from his monograph Ph.D. thesis to article and book format. > Martin has recently secured funding from the Swedish Research Council for a three-year postdoc project, entitled Towards a Natural Theory of Political Equality, which will run from 2025 to 2028. Based at Uppsala University, the project will investigate land rights and geoist theory in relationship to political equality. Especially, the project will focus on democratic theory, social contract theory, and distributive justice. During the project, Martin will spend the academic year 2025-26 as a guest researcher at Virginia Tech, in 2026-2027 he will return to Oslo and the Norwegian Nobel Institute, as a guest researcher, before completing his project in Uppsala in 2027-2028. Selected publications > Tideman, Nicolaus & . “Geoism” in Encyclopedia of Global Justice. (2nd ed.) Ed. Joshua Kassner. Springer: Dordrecht. (Co-authored. Under review.) > Jacobson, Martin. “The Virtues of Virtue Signalling” Giving What We Can Blog. November 20, 2024. Available online at: < https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/en/blog/the-virtues-of-virtue-signaling https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/en/blog/the-virtues-of-virtue-signaling> > Jacobson, Martin. Land & Liberty: On the Natural Monopoly of Violence. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis: Uppsala. 2024. Available online at: < https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1852324/FULLTEXT01.pdf https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1852324/FULLTEXT01.pdf> > Jacobson, Martin. ”Geoism as Part of the Left-Libertarian Tradition” Progress and Poverty Substack. October 11, 2023. Available online at < https://progressandpoverty.substack.com/p/geoism-as-part-of-the-left-libertarian https://progressandpoverty.substack.com/p/geoism-as-part-of-the-left-libertarian> - [David Rischel](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/visiting-fellows/david-rischel): Teaching Fellow Queen Mary University of London > is a normative political theorist and a teaching fellow at Queen Mary University of London. He received his PhD from the University of Warwick in 2024. His work revolves around normative questions to do with territory and jurisdiction, in particular: what, if anything, can justify the rights of states to rule their territories? Under what circumstances is the secession of sub-state regions from their parent states permissible? Why is it wrong for a state to annex another state (when it is wrong)? And what does a fair distribution of land look like? > At the Norwegian Nobel Institute, David will be investigating how jurisdictional rights – the rights to make, adjudicate, and enforce the law – should be distributed in cyberspace, and what values should guide this effort. More specifically, he will be investigating issues that have to do with the governance and protection of data, including questions such as: under what circumstances is it problematic for individuals to be subject to overlapping jurisdictions in regard to the governance and protection of their data? Should the international legal prohibition on extraterritorial enforcement be operative in cyberspace? And can we even make sense of this prohibition, given the absence of clear territorial demarcations? Selected Publications: > Rischel, D. (2024). Property, nature, and the freedom to roam. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2024.2387995 https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2024.2387995 #### [Former Visiting Fellows](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/) - [2017](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2017-1): Main research topic: Disarmament and Armament Dynamics in the Present World > *John Cerone*, Professor, University Of Windsor and Tufts University > *Denise Garcia*, Professor at the University of Geneva Graduate Institute and Northeastern University > *Jacek Kugler*, Professor, Claremont Graduate University. > *Andrew Futter*, Associate Professor, University of Leicester > *Calin Trenkov-Wermuth*, Associated Fellow, UN Institute for Training and Research > *David Churchman*, Emeritus Professor, California State University > *Luke A. Nichter*, Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University - [1992](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/1992-1) > Dr. Ray Bush, University of Leeds, UK > Dr. Andrey B. Edemskiy, Institute of Universal History, Moscow, Russia > Dr. Maxim Korobochkin, Institute for Universal History, Moscow, Russia > Dr. Hilde Skorpen, University of Boston, USA > Dr. Tatiana Telyukova, Institute of Universal History, Moscow, Russia - [1993 - Main Research Topic: Great Powers and International Systems](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/1993-main-research-topic-great-powers-and-international-systems) > Professor Imanuel Geiss, Bremen, Germany > Dr. Chen Jian, State University of New York at Geneseo, NY, USA > Advisor Petr Kolar, Institute of Strategic Studies, Prague, Czechoslovakia > Dr. Torbjørn L. Knutsen, University of Trondheim, Norway > Professor Melvyn P. Leffler, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA > Dr. Ren Donglai, Nanjing University, China > Mr. Stewart M. Patrick, Ph.D. candidate at Oxford University, UK > Dr. Vladislav M. Zubok, Institute of US and Canada Studies, Moscow, Russia - [1994 - Transformations in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (spring) and Great Powers, World Orders, and Interventions (fall)](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/1994-transformations-in-eastern-europe-and-the-former-soviet-union-spring-and-great-powers-world-orders-and-interventions-fall) > Dr. Maxim Korobochkin, Institute of Universal History, Moscow, Russia > Dr. Bruce Kuniholm, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA > Professor Andrzej Mania, The Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland > Professor Vojtech Mastny, Bologna, Italy > Professor Joze Pirjevec, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia > Professor Yuri N. Smirnov, Kurchatov Institute, Moscow, Russia > Dr. Vladislav M. Zubok, Institute of US and Canada Studies, Moscow, Russia - [1995 - The Vietnam War and International Relations in Asia (spring) and From Cold War to Post-Cold War in International Relations (fall)](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/1995-the-vietnam-war-and-international-relations-in-asia-spring-and-from-cold-war-to-post-cold-war-in-international-relations-fall) > Prof. Alexander Chubarian, Institute of Universal History, Moscow, Russia > Dr. Earl Conteh-Morgan, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA > Prof. John Lewis Gaddis, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA > Dr. Ilya V. Gaiduk, Institute of Universal History, Moscow, Russia > Prof. Jeffrey Kimball, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA > Dr. Arthur Klinghoffer, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ, USA > Dr. Timothy D. Sisk, United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC, USA > Mr. Nguyen Vu Tung, Hanoi, Vietnam > Admiral Stansfield Turner, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA > Associate Professor Shuguang Zhang, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA - [1996 - From Cold War to Post-Cold War in International Relations](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/1996-from-cold-war-to-post-cold-war-in-international-relations) > Dr. Yale H. Ferguson, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA > Dr. Camilla Lund, Cambridge University, England > Professor Michael Keating, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada > Dr. Constantine Pleshakov, Institute of US and Canada Studies, Moscow, Russia - [1997 - US Relations with Western Europe since 1945](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/1997-us-relations-with-western-europe-since-1945) > Dr. Alan Dobson, University of Wales, Swansea > Dr. Jussi M. Hanhimäki, London School of Economics > Dr. Wolfram Kaiser, Universität Wien > Prof. Pierre Melandri, La Sorbonne, Paris > Prof. Klaus Schwabe, RWTH, Aachen > Prof. Thomas A. Schwartz, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN > Dr. Pascaline Winand, Université Libre de Bruxelles - [1998 - Reviewing the Cold War: Approaches, Interpretations, Theory](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/1998-reviewing-the-cold-war-approaches-interpretations-theory) > Dr. Lazlo Borhi, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary > Dr. Aaron L. Friedberg, Princeton University, NJ, USA > Dr. Niu Jun, Institute of American Studies, Bejing, China > Prof. Melvyn Leffler, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA > Associate Prof. Douglas J. Macdonald, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA > Dr. Artiom Ulunian, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia > Dr. Kathryn Weathersby, Washington, DC, USA > Deputy Director Natalia Yegorova, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia - [1999 - Reviewing the Cold War: Approaches, Interpretations, Theory](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/1999-reviewing-the-cold-war-approaches-interpretations-theory) > Dr. Lazlo Borhi, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary > Dr. Aaron L. Friedberg, Princeton University, NJ, USA > Dr. Niu Jun, Institute of American Studies, Bejing, China > Prof. Melvyn Leffler, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA > Associate Prof. Douglas J. Macdonald, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA > Dr. Artiom Ulunian, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia > Dr. Kathryn Weathersby, Washington, DC, USA > Deputy Director Natalia Yegorova, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia - [2000 - General Theories of War and Peace and The History of the Nobel Peace Prize, 1901-2001](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2000-general-theories-of-war-and-peace-and-the-history-of-the-nobel-peace-prize-1901-2001) > Dr. Said Adejumobi, Lagos State University, Nigeria > Cand. Philol. Ivar Libæk, Oslo > Assistant Professor Marilyn I. McMorrow, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA > Professor Hans-Heinrich Nolte, University of Hannover, Germany > Associate Professor John R. Oneal, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA > Cand. Philol. Øivind Stenersen, Oslo > Dr. Peter van den Dungen, University of Bradford, UK - [2001 - General Theories of War and Peace and The History of the Nobel Peace Prize, 1901-2001](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2001-general-theories-of-war-and-peace-and-the-history-of-the-nobel-peace-prize-1901-2001) > Professor Jussi M. Hanhimäki, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland > Cand. Philol. Ivar Libæk, Oslo, Norway > Professor John MacMillan, Keele University, UK > Professor John Mueller, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA > Professor Vladimir O. Pechatnov, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia > Professor Patrick Salmon, University of Newcastle, UK > Cand. Philol. Øivind Stenersen, Oslo, Norway > Cand. philol. Asle Sveen, Oslo, Norway - [2002 - US/West European Relations with the Soviet Union/Russia from the Late 1970s to the Present](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2002-us-west-european-relations-with-the-soviet-union-russia-from-the-late-1970s-to-the-present) > Director Jordan Baev, National Security & International Relations Institute, Sofia, Bulgaria > Professor Frédéric Bozo, University of Nantes, France > Professor Michael Cox, University of Wales, UK > Dr. Saki Dockrill, King's College, UK > Professor Beth A. Fischer, University of Toronto, Canada > Dr. Benjamin B. Fischer, Center for the Study of Intelligence, CIA, USA > Professor Leopoldo Nuti, Universita' Degli Studi Roma, Italy > Professor Andrzej Paczkowski, Polish Academy of Sciences, Polen > Professor Marie-Pierre Rey, Université de Paris 1 - Sorbonne, France - [2007 - Just Another Major Crisis? : The United States and Europe Since 2000](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2007-just-another-major-crisis-the-united-states-and-europe-since-2000) > Dr. Frédéric Bozo, L’Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri), Paris, France > Dr. Alessandro Brogi, University of Arkansas, USA > Professor Michael Cox, London School of Economics, England > Professor Rob Kroes, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands > Professor Leopoldo Nuti, University of Rome, Italy > Professor Thomas A. Schwartz, Vanderbilt University, USA > Dr. Benedikt Schönborn, Switzerland - [2008](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2008-1) > Professor David S. Painter, Georgetown University, USA > Professor Geoffrey Roberts, University College Cork, Irland > Dr. Bernd Schäefer, Woodrow Wilson International Center, Germany/USA > Professor Jeremi Suri, University of Wisconsin, USA - [2009 - The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: Past Experiences and Future Challenges](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2009-the-spread-of-nuclear-weapons-past-experiences-and-future-challenges) > Professor Clóvis Brigagão, Universidade Candido Mendes, Brasil > Professor Campbell Craig, University of Southampton, England > Professor Francis J. Gavin, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, USA > Professor William C. Potter, Monterey Institute of International Studies, USA > Senior Military Advisor, Dr. Mohamed Kadry Said, Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Egypt > Professor William B. Walker, University of St. Andrews, Scotland - [2012 - Power & Polarity – After the Post Cold War](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2012-power-polarity-after-the-post-cold-war) > Professor Jeffrey A. Engel, Texas A&M, USA > Professor Joseph M. Parent, University of Miami, USA > Etienne de Durand, French Institute of International Relations, France > Professor Brendan Simms, University of Cambridge, UK > Professor Yasuhiro Izumikawa, Chuo University, Japan > Dr. Benjamin Schreer, Deputy Head, Defence Studies Centre, ANU Australia > Professor G. John Ikenberry, Princeton University, USA > Assistant Professor Mette E. Sangiovanni, Cambridge University, UK > Professor Sebastian Rosato, University of Notre Dame, USA > Professor Brahma Chellaney, University of New Delhi, India > Professor Yong Deng, United States Naval Academy, USA > Professor Alexei Shevchenko, California State University Fullerton, USA - [2013 - A World Renewed: Examining the Post-Cold War Legacy](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2013-a-world-renewed-examining-the-post-cold-war-legacy) > Professor William I. Hitchcock, University of Virginia, USA > Professor Torbjørn L. Knutsen, University of Trondheim, NTNU, Norway > Professor Jean-Yves Haine, University of Toronto, Canada > Professor Lars Trägardh, Ersta University College, Sweden > Professor Mary Kaldor, London School of Economics, UK > Professor Steven Lobell, the University of Utah, USA > Robert Cooper, Counsellor in the European External Action Service, Belgium > Paola Subacchi, Chatham House Royal Institute of International Affairs. UK > Gideon Rachmann, Editor The Financial Times, UK > Professor Jonathan Kirshner, Professor Cornell University, USA > Professor Niall Ferguson, Harvard University, USA - [2014 - Does the Rise and Fall of Great Powers Lead To Conflict and War?](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2014-does-the-rise-and-fall-of-great-powers-lead-to-conflict-and-war) > Liselotte Odgaard, Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Defence College > Christopher Layne, Professor of Political Science at Texas A & M University > Zhang Ruizhuang, Dean of the Academy of International Studies and the Director of the Center of American Studies at Nankai University, Tianjin, China > Gabriela Marin Thornton, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Texas A & M University > Jonathan Holslag, Senior Lecturer, Free University Brussels > Rosemary Foot, Professor of International Relations, Oxford University > Michael Cox, Professor of International Relations at London School of Economics - [2015 - 1989-2009: Assessing the Age of Liberal Internationalism](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2015-1989-2009-assessing-the-age-of-liberal-internationalism) > David Snyder, Department of History, University of South Carolina > Samuel Moyn, Professor of History, Harvard University > David Ekbladh, Assistant Professor Tufts University > William B. Quandt, Professor of Political Science, University of Virginia > Michael C. Doyle, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University > Anne Marie Le Gloannec, Senior Research Fellow, Sciences Po Paris > Adrian Pop, Professor of International Relations, University of Bucharest - [2016 - The Causes of Peace](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2016-the-causes-of-peace) > John T. McNay, Professor of History, University of Cincinnati > Steven L. B. Jensen, Danish Institute for Human Rights > James Cooper, Senior Lecturer in History, Oxford Brookes University > Joakim Palme, Professor of Political Science, Uppsala University > Jeffrey W. Taliaferro, Associate Professor of Political Science Tufts University > Bear F. Braumoeller, Associate Professor Political Science, Ohio State University > Mai’a Davis Cross, Assistant professor political science at Northeastern University > Ayşe Zarakol, University Lecturer, University of Cambridge > Ned Lebow, Professor, King’s College London > Michael Kimmage, Professor of history, The Catholic University of America - [2017 - Disarmament and Armament Dynamics in the Present World](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2017-disarmament-and-armament-dynamics-in-the-present-world) > John Cerone, Professor, University Of Windsor and Tufts University > Denise Garcia, Professor at the University of Geneva Graduate Institute and Northeastern University > Jacek Kugler, Professor, Claremont Graduate University. > Andrew Futter, Associate Professor, University of Leicester > Calin Trenkov-Wermuth, Associated Fellow, UN Institute for Training and Research > David Churchman, Emeritus Professor, California State University > Luke A. Nichter, Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University > Mini-talks from the seminar *Disarmament and Armament Dynamics in the Present World*. https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/disarmament-and-armament-dynamics-in-the-present-world - [2018](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2018) > *Mary Ellen O’Connell*, Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution, University of Notre Dame. > *Frank Rusciano*, Professor of Political Science and Director of Global Studies at Rider University - [2019](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2019) > *Jeremy Pressman*, Professor of Political Science and Director of Middle East Studies at the University of Connecticut > *Seth Anziska*, the Mohamed S. Farsi-Polonsky Associate Professor of Jewish-Muslim Relations, University College London - [2020](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2020) > *Timothy D. Sisk*, Professor of International and Comparative Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver - [2022](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/visiting-fellows-program/former-visiting-fellows/2022) > *James A. Millward*, Professor of Inter-societal History at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University ### [What We Do](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/) > Learn more about our events, including the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, the Nobel Symposium, and other research seminars - [What We Do](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/what-we-do): Throughout the year, we conduct independent research and host and coordinate different events, oftentimes in partnership with other organisations. Some events are open to the public, while others are by invitation. To see the list of upcoming events, please visit our News section. > ![Munchs Soloppgang](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133197-1632292488/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/Forside%20NPPF.jpg%20%28extra_large%29.jpg ) #### [Nobel Symposia](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/) > The Nobel Foundation's Symposium program was initiated in 1965. - [The Causes of Peace](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2016-eng) > **Place: **Solstrand Hotell, Os **Date: **15-19 June 2016 > **Summary:** > The purpose of the proposed Nobel symposium was to bring together some of the world’s leading political scientists, economists, anthropologists and historians, who have worked on causes of peace, for three days of spirited discussion. While the primary focus was on the contemporary causes of peace, an eye was kept on the relevance of Alfred Nobel’s stipulations held up to the insights from contemporary scholarship. An effort was made to present the scholarly consensus, as well as its critics. **Participants:** > Asle Toje, Olav Njølstad, Bård Nikolas Vik Steen, Nassim N. Taleb, Robert Kagan, Ayşe Zarakol, Bruce Russett, Mark Mazower, Paul Collier, Bear F. Braumoeller, Paul F. Diehl, Mai’a K. Davis, and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. > LINK https://www.amazon.com/Causes-Peace-What-Know-Now/dp/1544505043 **ISBN:** 978-1-5445-0505-3 - [Not Just Another Cold War: The global implications of Sino-American rivalry](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2022-eng) > **Place: **Oslo **Date: **22-25 June 2022 > **Summary:** > Much of the Nobel Peace Prize’s history has occurred under the shadow of a cold war. The sombre consequences of thermonuclear warfare made the superpower conflict a natural focus of many Nobel Symposia. While the ‘unipolar moment’ of the early 1990s provided some respite, history now appears to have returned with a vengeance. The COVID-19 pandemic and the diminished room for economic and political manoeuvre has brushed aside remaining doubts that China and the United States are locked in conflict. In an age of destabilising hypersonic, cyber and space technologies, no issue could be more consequential than a standoff between the two wealthiest, nuclear-armed, countries the world has ever seen. > **Participants:** > Olav Njølstad, Odd Arne Westad, Øystein Tunsjø, Arthur R. Kroeber, David Dollar, Robert S. Ross, Tom J. Christensen, Taylor Fravel, Henrik Hiim, Elisabeth Wishnick, Alice Ekman, Bård Nikolas Vik Steen, Jo Inge Bekkevold, Stephen Walt, François Heisbourg, Scott Kastner, Bruno Tertrais. - [Nuclear Disarmament: Desirable? Attainable? Workable?](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2018-eng) > **Place: **Solstrand Hotell, Os **Date: **13-16 June 2018 > **Summary:** > Over the last 10-15 years we have witnessed an increasing interest in the vision of a nuclear weapon-free world. Numerous alternative paths to nuclear disarmament have been proposed and scrutinized. > However, the main purpose of the proposed conference is not to dwell upon what has caused the renewed call for nuclear disarmament; rather, the conference will focus on the merit of the Global Zero vision itself and make critical assessments of the alternative roadmaps that have been proposed in order to reach that goal. The idea is to organize a structured and analytical discussion between advocates and critics of the various ideas and proposals at the centre of the contemporary academic and political discourse on nuclear disarmament. The conference will contribute to an intellectual exchange between scholars of international politics and a policy receptive audience with professional experience from the field of disarmament and arms control. > **Participants:** > William J. Perry, Josef Joffe, Olav Njølstad, Robert Jervis, Charles L. Glaser, Michael E. O’Hanlon, Gro Nystuen, Richard Burt, Ward Wilson, Philip Coyle, William Walker, Halit Mustafa Emin Tagma, Nina Tannenwald, Han Ruzicka, Campbell Craig, Bruno Tertrais, Keir Lieber, Tom Sauer, Denise Garcia. LINK https://www.amazon.com/Nuclear-Disarmament-Critical-Assessment-Routledge/dp/0367133660 **ISBN:** 978-0367133665 - [Does the rise and fall of great powers lead to conflict and war?](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2014-eng) > **Place: **Voksenåsen, Oslo **Date: **19-22 June 2014 > **Summary:** > The rise of China is not only a dramatic symbol of the redistribution of global wealth, it is an event marking the end of the unipolar international system, a process which will undoubtedly be one of the most momentous developments of the twenty-first century. Bringing together the work of leading experts in the field, Will China's Rise Be Peaceful? offers d wide-ranging examination of the interaction between deep historical patterns and the rise of China. While China has repeatedly signaled that it does not intend to be a revisionist power, its extraordinary economic growth and active diplomacy across Asia have led many observers to question this position. China's activities in recent years have caused constant readjustments among other key actors, who have been compelled to respond to Chinese policies in the broader Asia region. The book focuses on three areas in particular: security, stability, and legitimacy. Equally grounded in both theory and extensive empirical research, this timely volume offers lucid analysis of the forces behind structural changes in the international system. In both its approach and its conclusions, it will serve as a model for the study of China in a new era. > **Participants:** > Asle Toje, John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt, G. John Ikenberry, Rosemary Foot, Geir Lundestad, Michael Cox, Wang Jisi, Tanaka Akihiko, David Shaumbaugh, Yan Xuetong, Aaron Friedberg, Christopher Layne, Odd Arne Westad, Liselotte Odgaard, Johan Lagerkvist, William Wohlforth, Martha Finnemore, Jonathan Holslag and Zaki Laïdi. LINK https://www.amazon.com/Will-Chinas-Rise-Peaceful-Legitimacy/dp/019067539X **ISBN:** 978-0190675394 - [International Relations since the end of the Cold War: Some Key Dimensions](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2011-eng) > **Place: **Lofoten **Date: **22-26 June 2011 > **Summary:** > In International Relations Since the End of the Cold War many of the world's leading historians and historically oriented political scientists deal with the Cold War legacy, and many of the*new issues that have emerged since the end of the Cold War. Stewart Patrick sums up the most important developments in the post-Cold War world. John O’Neal and John Mueller discuss the relationship between democracy and peace and what came first, democracy or peace. Melvyn Leffler, Jeremi Suri, and Vladimir 0. Pechatnov take up the Cold War legacy as it relates to the United States and the Soviet Union/ Russia. Odd Arne Westad reviews the relationship between the end of the Cold War and the end of the Third World. David Holloway and Olav Njølstad handle the role of nuclear weapons in the post-Cold War world. The book pays special attention to the role of the old and new superpowers, with chapters on the United States (Jussi Hanhimäki), Russia (Vladislav- Zubok), the European Union (Frédéric Bozo), and China (Michael Cox and Chen Jian.) The chapters see the United States and China as the leading powers, but differ considerably on the respective roles of the two leading powers. In the introduction, the editor, Geir Lundestad, discusses the post-Cold War years as a historical period compared to earlier periods in modern history; in the conclusion he speculates on what might be some dominant developments in the future. > **Participants:** > Michael Cox, Stewart Patrick, John O’Neal, John Mueller, Melvyn Leffler, Vladimir Pechatnov, Jeremi Suri, Jussi Hanhimäki, Vladislav Zubok, Marie-Pierre Rey, Frederic Bozo, Asle Toje, Chen Jian, David Holloway, Olav Njølstad, Odd Arne Westad, Hope Harrison, Geir Lundestad, Øyvind Østerud, Helge Ø. Pharo. LINK https://www.amazon.com/International-Relations-Since-End-Cold/dp/0199666431 **ISBN:** 978-0199666430 - [Peace, stability, and nuclear order: Theoretical assumptions, historical experiences, future challenges](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2009-eng) > **Place: **Oscarsborg, Drøbak **Date: **25-27 June 2009 > **Summary:** > Since the obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, nuclear weapons have created an unparalleled problem of order within the international state system. By 1964, five countries had crossed the nuclear threshold – the USA, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and China, respectively. At this stage, negotiations started with the aim of stopping the further spread of nuclear weapons. The result was the Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed in 1968 and entering into force in 1970. With the NPT came a nuclear order, backed by international law, which divided the world into two groups of states: those who can legally possess nuclear weapons – namely, the five existing nuclear powers at the time – and those who have voluntarily resigned the right to acquire and possess such weapons. > In terms of membership, the NPT has been a considerable success. While only 62 states were ready to sign the Treaty when it was opened for signature in 1968, there are today only four states that have *not *acceded to it. Moreover, over the years a number of other non-proliferation successes have been scored. The safeguard system has been steadily improved. A Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty has been negotiated and signed by many governments. South Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus have acceded to the Treaty as non-nuclear states after having given up their nuclear arsenals, whereas the secret nuclear weapons programs of countries like Iraq and Libya have been stopped. Indeed, by 1995 the record looked so promising that the NPT parties agreed that the Treaty would continue in force “indefinitely”. > Still, today there is increasing concern that the non-proliferation regime may prove unable to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. More specifically, many experts fear that the regime – a delicate structure of legal obligations, political norms and material control mechanisms administrated by the IAEA – may eventually break apart as a result of four types of pressure. First of all, the NPT is exposed to pressure from *outside* given the fact that three countries that are *not *parties to the Treaty – Israel, India and Pakistan – are known to possess nuclear weapons. Secondly, the NPT is pressured from *within*, in the sense that some countries that have signed on to the Treaty as non-nuclear weapons states have nevertheless developed or are suspected to be trying to develop nuclear weapons. North Korea and Iran are current examples. Thirdly, the NPT is under pressure from *below; *that is, from terrorists and other non-state actors who may want to acquire radioactive materials or even nuclear weapons as part of their aggressive or criminal schemes. Finally, and perhaps most important, the NPT is subject to pressure from *above*, which in the present context refers to the unwillingness of the five legal nuclear weapons states to adhere to their Treaty obligation to negotiate “effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament.” Many experts believe that unless the USA, Russia, Britain, France and China live up to their part of the “double bargain” made by the parties of the NPT, the non-proliferation regime cannot be sustained in the long run. Why should the “have-nots” keep their promise not to acquire nuclear weapons if the legal nuclear weapons states ignore their promise to disarm? > The symposium will address the current and likely future challenges to the non-proliferation regime, and ask what can be done in order to remove, or at least cope with, the four kinds of pressures described above. > **Participants:** > Olav Njølstad, Hans Blix, Leopoldo Nuti, Mohamed Kadry Said, S. Paul Kapur, Campbell Craig, Leion V. Sigal, Sverre Lodgaard, Francis J. Gavin, Morten Bremer Mærli, John Mueller, William C. Potter, David Holloway, Vladimir Dvorkin, Sergey Oznobishchev, William Walker, Bruno Tertrais, Yao Yunzhu, Chen Jian, Clóvis Brigagão, Wyn Q. Bowen, Thomas Jonter, Jacques E. C. Hymans. LINK https://www.amazon.com/Nuclear-Proliferation-International-Order-Non-Proliferation/dp/0415580986 **ISBN:** 978-0415580984 - [The United States and Europe – Cooperation and Conflict: Past, Present and Future](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2007-eng) > **Place: **Kviknes Hotel, Balestrand **Date: **20-23 June 2007 > **Summary:** > Some of the world's leading academic experts on American-European relations provide the most up-to-date presentations of the topic available today. The Iraq War represented a most serious challenge to American- European relations. Some of the contributors argue that NATO, the key of the Atlantic relationship, has been harmed beyond repair. The Cold War is over; America has become more nationalist than it used to be; Europe has become more independent-minded vis-à-vis the United States. Others argue that the war was just another major crisis, like the many crises that had affected NATO even in its golden years during the Cold War: Recently the relationship has already improved a great deal; it is likely to improve even further. **Participants:** > Frédéric Bozo, Guillaume Parmentier, David P. Calleo, Michael Cox, Helga Haftendorn, G. John Ikenberry, Rob Kroes, Steven Kull, I. M. Destler, Charles Kupchan, Geir Lundestad, Charles S. Maier, Gustav Schmidt, Stanley Sloan, William Wallace, Robin Niblett, Alessandro Brogi, Jolyon Howorth, Leszek Jesien, Christer Jönsson, Leopoldo Nuti, Helge Pharo, Benedikt Schoenborn, Thomas A. Schwartz, Asle Toje, Nils Morten Udgaard, Pascaline Winand, Olav Njølstad. LINK https://www.amazon.com/Just-Another-Major-Crisis-United/dp/0199552037 **ISBN:** 978-0199552030 - [Development as a Human Right – Legal, Political, and Economic Dimensions](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2003-eng) > **Summary:** > In the last decade of the twentieth century the intrinsic links between economics and human rights became more readily acknowledged. It has been proposed that if strategies of economic development and policies to implement human rights are united, they will reinforce one another and improve the human condition. Drawing on papers presented at the Nobel Symposium on The Right to Development and Human Rights in Development, this book opens with an essay by Nobel Laureate in Economic Science Amartya Sen and contains chapters by experts in the fields of philosophy, economics, international law, and international relations on the conceptual underpinnings of development as a human right, the national dimensions of this right, and the role of international institutions. The contributors explore the meaning and practical implications of human rights-based approaches to economic development and ask what this relationship may add to our understanding and thinking about human and global development. > **Participants:** > Amartya Sen, Arjun Sengupta, Jakob Kirkemann Hansen, Hans-Otto Sano, Stephen P. Marks, David Beetham, Margot E. Salomon, Bård A. Andreassen, Yash Ghai, Sandra Liebenberg, Rajeev Malhotra, Asbjørn Eide, Siddiq Osmani, Martin Scheinin, Sigrun I. Skogly. LINK https://www.amazon.com/Development-Human-Right-Political-Dimensions/dp/0674021215 **ISBN:** 978-0674021211 - [From Conflict Escalation to Conflict Transformation: The Cold War in the 1980s](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2002-eng) > **Place:** Lysebu **Date:** 17-19 June 2002 > **Summary:** > The 1980s witnessed one of the most dramatic and far-reaching transformations of world politics in modern times. Not only did the Cold War end with the unexpected collapse of one-party communist rule in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, but the early 1980s was also a period of almost unprecedented rivalry and tension between the two main actors in the East-West conflict, the United States and the Soviet Union. Why and how that conflict first escalated and thereafter, in an amazingly swift process, was reversed and brought to its peaceful conclusion, at the end of the decade, is the topic of this volume. > With individual contributions by 18 well-known scholars of international relations and history from various countries, the book addresses the role of the United States, the former Soviet Union, and the countries of western and eastern Europe in that remarkable last decade of the Cold War, and discusses how particular events as well as underlying political, ideological, social, and economic factors may have contributed to the remarkable transformation that took place. > Like the previous books in the Cass series on Cold War History, this work will be essential reading for all students of international relations and contemporary history, and will also appeal to political commentators and the informed general reader. > **Speakers:** > Christopher Andrew, Frédéric Bozo, Anatoly Chernyaev, Michael Cox, Matthew Evangelista, Benjamin B. Fischer, Beth A. Fischer, Raymond L. Garthoff, Sean Greenwood, Hans-Hermann Hertle, Ivan N. Kuzmin, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jacques Lévesque, Geir Lundestad, Douglas MacEachin, Vojtech Mastny, Jack F. Matlock, Jr., Olav Njølstad, Leopoldo Nuti, William E. Odom, Andrzej Paczkowski, Olav Riste, Alexandr V. Shubin, Tao Wenzhao, Odd Arne Westad, William C. Wohlforth. LINK https://www.amazon.com/Last-Decade-Cold-War-Transformation/dp/B01FKTLUAY **ISBN:** 0 7146 8539 9 - [Nobel Peace Prize Centennial Symposium – The Conflicts of the 20th Century and the Solutions for the 21st Century](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2001-eng) > **Place:** Holmenkollen Park Hotel Rica, Oslo **Date:** 6-8 December 2001 > **Summary:** > In 2001 we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the long and impressive list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates beginning with Frédéric Passy and Henry Dunant in 1901. The Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute wanted to commemorate this by staging a symposium in Oslo, the City of Peace, where Nobel Peace Prize laureates and renowned international scholars met to discuss why the 20th century was so ridden by war and how the 21st century may become a more peaceful one. The questions were bold, indeed, but that did not prevent us from addressing them as long as we realized that no easy answers were at hand. Throughout history, peace has never been easily obtained. But that doesn’t mean it is unobtainable. As the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Fridtjof Nansen liked to remind us, “the difficult is what takes a little while; the impossible is what takes a little longer”. > The symposium was divided into nine sessions, seven of which focused on important causal nexuses of war and peace that had been given particular notice by the Norwegian Nobel Committee over the last 100 years. Each session lasted for 75 minutes and consisted of an introduction by an academic expert followed first by a statement from a chosen Nobel laureate, then by brief comments from a small group of Prize winners and by general debate. The main idea was to let the scholars focus primarily on the problems of the past whereas the laureates were encouraged to apply their insights, convictions and creative thinking on the challenges and promises of the future. Together we hoped this division of labor would help to make us all a little wiser. > **Participants:** > Gunnar Berge, Eric Hobsbawm, Mikhail Gorbachev, Kim Dae-jung, International Committee of the Red Cross, Mairead Maguire, Michael Doyle, Amnesty International, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Médecins Sans Frontières, Lech Walesa, Mahmood Mamdani, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Frederik Willem de Klerk, David Trimble, Amartya Sen, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Norman E. Borlaug, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Oscar Arias Sánchez, United Nations Peacekeeping Forces, Betty Williams, International Peace Bureau, Mary H. Kaldor, Joseph Rotblat, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, International, Campaign to Ban Landmines, Jody Williams, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, Louise Fawcett, Shimon Peres, ILO, John Hume, Akira Iriye, Dalai Lama, Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, The Friends Service Council/The American Friends, Service Committee, Institute of International Law, Geir Lundestad, Elie Wiesel, José Ramos-Horta, Desmond Tutu and Gunnar Stålsett, Deputy Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. > LINK https://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Peace-20th-Century-Beyond/dp/981238197X **ISBN:** 978-9812381972 - [Reviewing the Cold War: Approaches, Interpretations, Theory](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/1998-eng) > **Place:** Lysebu Hotel **Date:** 17-20 June 1998 > **Summary:** > The Nobel Institute is planning a major symposium in the summer of 1998 in which we want to deal with interpretations, approaches, and theory in our understanding of the Cold War. The main purpose of the symposium is to review developments in the field of Cold War history since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The organizers are particularly preoccupied with furthering the discussion of interdisciplinary issues and overall interpretative frameworks. > The sudden appearance of the inner historical materials of the former Eastern bloc has, over the past several years, transformed the ways in which we may study the central international conflict of the late 20th century. Numerous new works of scholarship have appeared, or are in the process of appearing, where these new materials are put to use, often in combination with recently declassified documents from Western countries. A new historiography seems to be in the making, with main contributions often coming from younger scholars with multi-language training and multi-cultural sensitivities. > **Participants:** > Francis Sejersted, Geir Lundestad, Odd Ame Westad, John Lewis Gaddis, Melvyn Leffler, Anders Stephanson, Alexander Chubarian, Jonathan Haslam, Richard Ned Lebow, William Wohlforth, Torbjørn Knutsen, Stein Tønnesson, Rey Koslowski, Douglas Macdonald, Mark Bradley, Kristian Gerner, Aaron Friedberg, Wilffled Loth, Constantine Pleshakov, Shu Guang Zhang, Olav Njølstad, Antonio Varsori, James Hershberg, Jussi Hanhimåki, Vladislav Zubok, Chen Jian, Anne Deighton, Voftech Mastny. > LINK https://www.amazon.com/Reviewing-Cold-War-Approaches-Interpretations/dp/0714681202 **ISBN:** 071465072-2 - [The United States and Western Europe: Cooperation and Conflict: Past, Present, and Future](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/1997-eng) > **Place:** Sanner Hotel **Date:** 9-12 April 1997 > **Summary:** > Participants engaged in insightful debates on issues surrounding the transatlantic partnership, Western transformation post-Cold War, and the future of American continental commitment. The symposium also included social activities such as sightseeing and dinners, providing attendees with opportunities for networking and relaxation. > **Speakers:** > Francis Sejersted, Geir Lundestad, Hans Dietrich Genscher, Hans Otto Frøland, Jussi M. Hanhimåki, Kathleen Burk, David P. Calleo, Alexandr Chubarian, Frank Costigliola, Alex Danchev, Alan Dobson, Werner Link, John Mearsheimer, Pierre Melandri, Alan S. Milward, Olav Njølstad, Nikolaj Petersen, Helge Pharo, Klaus Schwabe, Thomas Alan Schwartz, Rolf Tamnes, Odd Arne Westad, Pascaline Winand. > LINK https://www.amazon.com/No-End-Alliance-Western-Present/dp/0333740807 **ISBN:** 978-0333740804 - [The Intervention in Afghanistan and the Fall of Détente](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/1995-eng) > **Place: **Oslo **Date: **17-20 September 1995 > **Summary:** > The relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States at the end of the 1970s was dominated by a series of conflicts over arms control issues and interventions in the Third World. In the end, the sum of these conflicts destroyed the framework of relaxation of superpower tension known as détente and ushered in a period of renewed Cold War rivalry in the early 1980s. > Now, for the first time, it is possible too look more closely at what happened in the relationship between Washington and Moscow in this era through declassified Soviet and American documents. This volume contains a number of interpretative essays from leading Cold War historians as well as some of the more important documents from American and East Bloc archives. It centers on the SALT II negotiations, on conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, and Afghanistan, and on bilateral issues, such as trade and human rights. > **Participants:** > James Blight, Malcolm Byrne, Dan Caldwell, Alexander Chubarian, John Gaddis, Ilya Gaiduk, Kjell Goldmann, James Hershberg, Janet Lang, Robert Legvold, Geir Lundestad, Alexander Lyakhovsky, Vojtech Mastny, Olav Njølstad, Øyvind Østerud, Helge Pharo, Carol Saivetz, David Welch, Odd Arne Westad, Vladislav Zubok. > LINK https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Odd-Arne-Westad/dp/8200376710 **ISBN:** 82-00-37671-0 - [Fall of Great Powers: Peace, Stability, and Legitimacy](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/1993-eng) > **Place: **Oslo **Date: **1993 > **Summary:** > The last few years have witnessed the rapid and complete collapse of the Soviet Union, a collapse which has produced dramatic effects, some considered beneficial (for instance, the end of the Cold War, disarmament, self-determination for Eastern Europe), others negative (for instance, ethnic conflicts in the old Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, as well as instability in general). > The book investigates the reasons for the fall of great powers, analyzing not only the Soviet situation, but also Britain, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the United States. Proceeding from this, the contributors examine the consequences of the fall of great powers for peace and stability in the world. The tension between stability and legitimacy, between a stable and a just democratic order, is particularly explored. The contributors include many of the world's leading experts in their respective fields, among them Paul Kennedy, John Gaddis, William McNeill, and Immanuel Wallerstein. > **Participants:** > J.F. Ade Ajayi, A. O. Chubarian, Istvan Deak, Michael W. Doyle, Aaron L. Friedberg, John Lewis Gaddis, Imanuel Geiss, Robert Gilpin, Wang Gunwu, Paul Kennedy, Geir Lundestad, William H. McNeill, Wolfgang J. Mommsen, Alex Nove, Carol R. Saivetz, Zara Steiner, Susan Strange, Immanuel Wallerstein, Vladislav M. Zubok. > LINK https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Great-Powers-Stability-Legitimacy/dp/8200219224 **ISBN:** 82-00-03947-1 - [Beyond the Cold War: New Dimensions in International Relations](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/1991-eng) > **Place: **Soria Moria Conference Center, Oslo **Date: **6-8 December 1991 > **Summary:** > For the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Nobel prizes, the Norwegian Nobel Committee brought together a very distinguished group of Nobel peace laureates and academic scholars. The group discussed issues such as the history of the Cold War, the past, present and future roles of arms races and regional conflicts, as well as some of the most likely new dimensions in international relations, particularly human rights, environmental questions, and Third World debt. > This book is based on the Nobel Symposium, and presents, in addition to Willy Brandt's introductory address, scholarly analyses by historians and political scientists who are foremost in their fields and who carry a profound concern for the future of mankind. > **Participants:** > His Holiness the Dalai Lama, President Oscar Arias Sanchez, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, Dr. Sejersted, Dr. Westad, Ms. Gidske Anderson, Dr. Bernard Lown, Dr. Lundestad, Sir Michael Howard, Dr. K. Subrahmanyam, Dr. J.F. Ade-Ayaji, Dr. Ali Mazrui, Dr. Raimo Väyrynen, Dr. Alexander George, Dr. Jerzy Tomaszewski, Dr. Shaul Bakhash, Amnesty International, The International Committee of the Red Cross, Dr. Jacques Moreillon, Dr. Elie Wiesel, The League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Mr. Pär Stenbäck, The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. D. Stafford, Dr. John Gaddis, Ohio University, Dr. Vladimir Shustov, USSR Ministry for Foreign, Dr. Susan George, Dr. Jorge G. Castañeda, Dr. Richard Falk, Dr. Toru Yano > LINK https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Cold-War-Dimensions-International/dp/8200217124 **ISBN:** 82-00-21712-4 - [Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine: Causes, motives, implications](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2024-eng) > here (PDF, 295KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136776-1718703452/_Research/Symposia/Nobel%20Symposium%20Programme.pdf****.** > **Summary:** > The Russian large-scale military attack on Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was a seminal moment that, regardless of how the war ends, will change the course of history. Understanding why and how this war came about, will be of profound importance to political leaders, academic experts, and society at large in the years to come. The aim of this Nobel Symposium is to start analysing the causes and motives, as well as the possible short and long-term implications, of Russia’s war of aggression. To address these and other questions, we will gather a group of academic, political, and military experts who are in the forefront of the international discourse on these topics. The papers presented at the Symposium will be published in an edited volume with a leading academic publishing house. > **Speakers:** > Vlad Zubok, Russia and Its Neighbours: the Early Roots of a Conflict > Sergiy Kudelia, Ukraine and Russia: From Partnership to War in Thirty Years > Øyvind Østerud, How the war in Ukraine is most likely to end > Owen Matthews, Why Putin Went to War > Jade McGlynn, Propaganda and Memory in Russia’s War on Ukraine > Mary Sarotte, The United States and NATO’s Eastward Expansion after the Cold War > Piers Ludlow, Greater than the sum of its parts: explaining the resilience of EU support for Ukraine > Odd Arne Westad, Empires: Russia, China, and the War against Ukraine > Andreas Rödder, How much Zeitenwende is in the “Zeitenwende"? German Foreign Politics in the early 21st Century > James Ellison, Britain and the War in Ukraine: Russian-UK relations, 1992-2003 > Slawomir Debski, The Role of Poland and the Baltic States in supporting Ukraine after Russian renewed aggression in February 2022. What impact did have their strategic culture? > Markku Kangaspuro, The changed geopoli.cal situa.on of the North Europe a6er Finland and Sweden joined NATO > Kristin Ven Bruusgaard, The nuclear lessons of Ukraine > Huw Dylan, The Ukraine War and Vladimir Putin’s (mis)Management of Russian Intelligence > Samuel Ramani, How the War on Ukraine will Affect Russia’s Global Position? > Mick Cox, Russia’s War of aggression in Ukraine: causes, motives, implications’ > **Chairs:** > Olav Njølstad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute > Kim Angell, Research Program Manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute - [Rethinking Territorial Jurisdiction: Normative perspectives on legislation and enforcement in cyberspace](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/symposia/2025-eng) > **Place: **Oslo **Date: **12-14 March 2025 **Summary:** > The 2025 Nobel Symposium focused on jurisdictional rights in cyberspace. It brought together leading scholars of political philosophy, international law, internet governance, and informatics to discuss the conditions and ramifications of territorial jurisdiction in cyberspace. The three-day event took an exciting look into the recent developments in cyberspace technology and a range of normative theories of cyberspace jurisdiction. > **Speakers:** > Arash Abizadeh, R.B. Angus Professor of Political Science and Association Member of Philosophy at McGill University > Kim Angell, Research Programme Manager at The Norwegian Nobel Institute > Gustaf Arrhenius, Director of the Institute for Futures Studies (IFFS) > Julia Hörnle, Professor at Queen Mary University of London > Audun Jøsang, Professor of cybersecurity at the University of Oslo > Uta Kohl, Professor of Law at Southampton Law School, and currently a Visiting Professor in Law and Technology at Chinese University of Hong Kong > Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, Professor of political theory at University of Aarhus, Denmark > David Miller, Professor of Political Theory and Senior Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford > Margaret Moore, Professor in the Political Studies department, Queen’s University, Canada > Victoria Nash, Director, Associate Professor and Senior Policy Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at the University of Oxford > Cara Nine, Associate Professor of Political Theory at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill > Cedric Ryngaert, Chair of Public International Law at Utrecht University (Netherlands) > Nicholas Tsagourias, Professor of International Law at the University of Sheffield and Visiting Professor of International Law at the Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po > Daniel Sharp, Assistant Professor (*Akademischer Rat auf Zeit*) at the Chair for Philosophy and Political Theory, in the Faculty of Philosophy, at LMU Munich > Dan Svantesson, Professor at Bond University Faculty of Law, and a Co-Director for the Centre for Space, Cyberspace and Data Law > Mac Willners, PhD Candidate in Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University, where he is part of the Norms and Normativity Graduate Research School > Mark Zoetekouw, Senior Lecturer/Researcher Leiden University of Applied Science #### [Seminars & Talks](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/seminars-talks/) > Through meetings, seminars and conferences, we bring together people from the worlds of politics and academia, as well as other opinion-formers. - [High Level Panel On Nuclear Security](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/seminars-talks/high-level-panel-on-nuclear-security) > The Norwegian Nobel Institute hosted a conference on Nuclear Security in Oslo 8 - 9 June 2017. > Highlights from seminar on *“International Efforts Towards Nuclear Security” *filmed at the Nobel Peace Center on June 08 2017. Participants are Yukija Amano, Director General IAEA, Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO and Erlan Idrissov, ambassador of Kazakhstan to UK and Northern Ireland > Highlights from of the *“High-Level Panel on Nuclear Security”* that took place at the Norwegian Nobel Institute on June 09, 2017 > *The Dangers of Nuclear Weapons - by Neil Halloran * > Nuclear weapons remain the only military threat with the capacity to end human civilization. Unlike during the Cold War, nuclear weapons are no longer the central topic of political discussions, leading new generations to be less aware of the threat they carry. > In collaboration with documentary filmmaker Neil Halloran, Nobel Peace Prize - Research and Information has produced a short film based on data from leading researchers that illustrates the very real danger nuclear weapons still pose to humanity and life on Earth. - [Camp David At Forty: Lessons And Prospects](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/seminars-talks/camp-david-at-forty-lessons-and-prospects) > On the 28th of May 2019, a high-level Nobel Institute seminar considered the 40th anniversary of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, commonly referred to as the 'Camp David Accords'. > The accords were the first major diplomatic breakthrough of the Arab-Israeli conflict, but has a mixed legacy. > The event ensured a lasting peace between Egypt and Israel, effectively blocking the possibility of another inter-state war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. However, it also indefinitely postponed a solution to the Palestinian question by enhancing Israel's control over the occupied territories. > Marking the 40 year anniversary of the accords, some of the world's leading experts were been invited to speak. William Quandt, Seth Anziska, Jeremy Pressman, Jørgen Jensehaugen, Louise Fischer, Craig Daigle and others contributed to the programme. > A high-level panel including Jan Egeland and Jan Petersen begun the session, discussing the prospects for a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. - [The Critical Decade - Ideas That Will Shape The Energy Transition](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/seminars-talks/the-critical-decade-ideas-that-will-shape-the-energy-transition) > On February 13th 2019, as part of the Oslo Energy Forum, four of the world's most innovative thinkers gathered at The Norwegian Nobel Institute to discuss the technical and political solutions necessary for a successful energy transition. > While acceptance of climate change is growing, uncertainty about the feasibility of successful energy transition persists. As if the technical and economic challenges were not great enough, recent resistance against even minor attempts to limit emissions illustrates the enormity of the task. As a result, disbelief is being replaced by apathy, and the world is in urgent need of radical new ideas. > *"Why we Need a Green New Deal"* - Rutger Bregman > *"Why Quantum Computing will Revolutionize Energy Production (and everything else)"* - Ilyas Khan > "*How to Realize Solar Energy's Vast Potential – Before It Is Too Late" *- Varun Sivaram > "*U.S. Climate and Energy Policy in the Trump Administration"* - Jody Freeman - [The Climate Challenge And The Spirit Of Capitalism](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/seminars-talks/the-climate-challenge-and-the-spirit-of-capitalism) > Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, and Francis Fukuyama, professor at Stanford University, speaking at The Norwegian Nobel Institute on 12 February 2020 as part of Oslo Energy Forum. > "*Can Capitalism Sustain a Green Revolution?"* - Martin Wolf > "*Reconciling Identity and Climate Cooperation"* - Francis Fukuyama #### [Nobel Peace Prize Forum](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/) > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is held every year on 11 December as part of the annual Nobel Peace Prize celebrations in Oslo. - [The US and World Peace After the Presidential Election](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/the-us-and-world-peace-after-the-presidential-election): Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski and Dr. Henry Kissinger gave their keynote addresses on 11 December 2016. > ![Forum 2016](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133180-1632292552/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2016/Nobel_Peace_Prize_2016_278.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Ken Opprann) > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum Oslo 2016 was held just a month after the 2016 Presidential Election in the United States. Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski and Dr. Henry Kissinger, both former U.S. top officials and foreign policy experts, was invited to give their keynote addresses on the topic of The United States and World Peace in the context of the recent election. > The 2016 Forum was broadcast to a global audience and streamed live online. The Forum welcomed viewers’ comments and questions via social media before and during the Forum. Some of the questions from our global audience were brought into the live discussion. > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum Oslo 2016 was organized by the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Nobel Peace Prize – Research and Information AS in partnership with the University of Oslo. The inaugural Forum was made possible by generous financial support from InCircl https://www.incircl.com/ and GoodXChange. > Follow link to watch the full event. https://youtu.be/H7xJN1tbNMc - [Across Dividing Lines](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/across-dividing-lines): Indigenous peoples' rights, within the context of social justice and environmental protection, were discussed on 11 December 2017. > ![Forum 2017](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/134250-1632293537/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2017/Nobel%20forum%202017-145.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Johannes Granseth) > 2017 marked the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as the 25th anniversary of Dr. Menchú Tum receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with indigenous peoples’ rights. What better opportunity, then, for the Nobel Peace Prize Forum Oslo to invite Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum to talk about the state of affairs concerning indigenous peoples in the world? > The 2017 Forum aimed to provide a platform for dialogue and experience share for representatives of the Standing Rock conflict in the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, US, and the Nussir copper mine conflict in the municipality of Kvalsund, Norway. > Program > Keynote Speaker: **Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum**, The 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate > Panel: **Grand Chief Edward John**, Expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues & Hereditary Chief of Tl'azt'en Nation; **Holy Elk Lafferty**, 4th generation Lakota Activist; **Stephanie Hope Smith**, Sacred-Cultural Site Conciliator; **Aili Keskitalo**, President of the Sami Parliament; **Elisabeth Gammelsæter**, Secretary General of the Norwegian Mineral Industry; **Øyvind Ravna**, Professor of Law, University of Tromsø > Moderator: **Fred de Sam Lazaro**, Correspondent, PBS NewsHour & Director, Undertold Stories Project, University of St. Thomas > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum Oslo 2017 was organized by the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Nobel Peace Prize – Research and Information AS in partnership with the University of Oslo. The Forum was made possible by generous contribution from New Generation Power https://www.newgenpower.com/ and Peace Through Commerce https://peacethroughcommerce.org/. > Follow link to watch the full event. https://youtu.be/CtuPA8uwqQo - [How to Solve the Climate Crisis](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/how-to-solve-the-climate-crisis): The Nobel Peace Prize Forum addressed climate change with Al Gore as keynote speaker on 11 December 2018. > ![Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2018](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/134088-1632292591/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2018/The_Nobel_Peace_Prize_Forum_29.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Ken Opprann) > Eleven years after Mr. Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and almost three years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued an alarming report on the risks of a global warming increase above 1.5°C. Released in October 2018, the report stressed the disastrous consequences of what a 2°C increase would mean compared to a 1.5°C increase. The deceptively small difference between these two temperature increases obscures a predicted 10 cm rise in sea levels, severe Arctic sea ice decrease, and a loss of 99% of the Earth’s coral reefs. With carbon emission levels on the rise, the IPCC warned that “rapid and far-reaching” action is needed in order to keep global warming levels at 1.5°C. > Program > Keynote speaker: **Al Gore**, former U.S. Vice-President and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize laureate > Panel: **Director-General José Graziano da Silva**, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO; **Professor Katharine Hayhoe**, Director of Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University; **Dr. Thina Margrethe Saltvedt**, Head of the Sustainable Finance Division of Nordea Bank, Norway; **Professor Ricarda Winkelmann**, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research > Moderator: **Bjørn Hallvard Samset**, Research Director at CICERO, Center for Climate Research > Follow this link to watch the full event. https://youtu.be/4e41DIpjYZQ - [Yemen's Fight for Survival](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/yemen-s-fight-for-survival): The Nobel Peace Prize Forum addressed the conflict in Yemen with Tawakkol Karman as keynote speaker on 11 December. > ![Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2019](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133861-1632292704/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2019/Nobel_Peace_Prize_Forum_2019_25.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Ken Opprann) > In 2011, Karman became the first female Arab Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her “…non-violent struggle for safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Following the outbreak of the brutal civil war in Yemen, Karman has continued her activism. Earlier this year, she published a plan for ending what some consider ‘the world’s worst humanitarian crisis’. > Program > Keynote speaker: **Tawakkol Karman**, Yemini journalist, activist, and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate > Panel: **Peter Salisbury**, Senior Advisor of the International Crisis Group on Yemen; **Dr. Lina Khatib**,Head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House; **Farea al-Muslimi**, Chairman of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies > Moderator: **Mah-Rukh Ali**, Journalist and author > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is part of Oslo Peace Days and organized by the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Nobel Peace Prize – Research and Information AS in partnership with the University of Oslo. - [International Cooperation After Covid-19](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/international-cooperation-after-covid-19): Multilateralism and Global Governance in the Wake of the Corona Pandemic. > ![Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2020](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/133629-1632292797/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2020/Nobel_Peace_Prize_Forum_2020_33.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Ken Opprann) > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2020 addressed how the Corona pandemic is affecting the conditions for international cooperation and global governance, and what the long-term consequences of this might be. While most experts agree that the COVID-19 crisis is a game changer in world affairs, they disagree on whether it will strengthen or weaken multilateralism, support or undermine the present international order, or make the world better or less prepared to handle unforeseen global crises in the future. > To address these and other urgent questions related to COVID-19 and international cooperation, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum presented UN Secretary-General António Guterres as the keynote speaker and guest of honour. > Program: > Keynote speaker: **António Guterres**, Secretary-General of the United Nations, 2001 Nobel Peace Prize laureate > Panelists: **David Beasley**, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, 2020 Nobel Peace Prize laureate; **Gro Harlem Brundtland**, Former Director-General of the World Health Organisation; **Robert Malley**, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group; **Ine Eriksen Søreide**, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs. > Moderator: **Christian Borch**, journalist and TV representer > Follow this link to watch full event https://youtu.be/C_uhUiVtVb4 > The COVID-19 pandemic is arguably the most dangerous threat to humanity since the Second World War. It is much more than a public health crisis. The economic and social consequences are already severe and predicted to get worse until effective vaccines have been distributed world-wide. In terms of international politics, the crisis appears both to exacerbate increasing popular dissatisfaction with globalization and accelerate growing nationalist-minded frustration with multilateralism and international institutions. According to some experts, the pandemic has been as disruptive as it is because it exploded into a world that was already increasingly disordered. A key question then becomes: Does the Corona crisis provide opportunities for much-needed reform and incentives for increased international cooperation, or will it rather deepen the inertia and malfunctioning of the international system, with increasing world disorder as an unwanted yet likely outcome? > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2020 was made possible with support from the City of Oslo, and was part of Oslo Peace Days, a collaboration between the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the Nobel Peace Center, the City of Oslo, the University of Oslo and the Peace Research Institute Oslo. - [The Food Effect](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/the-food-effect): Hunger | Malnutrition | Climate > ![Participants of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2021](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135333-1643199440/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2021/1_nobel2021-forum-7X6A2656.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Foto: Geir Anders Rybakken Ørslien) > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2021 addressed how the pursuit, production, and consumption of food could unlock new possibilities for achieving sustainable development on a global scale. In exploring why and how food plays a central role in reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we heard from leading experts and innovators in the fight for food security and a sustainable future. > Program: > Keynote speakers: **David Beasley**, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and **Johan Rockström**, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. > Participants: **Agnes Kalibata**, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Food System's Summit, **Anne Beathe Tvinnereim**, Norwegian Minister of International Development, **Bård Vegar Solhjell**, Director General of Norad, **Gunhild A. Stordalen**, Founder & Executive Chair of EAT, **Sophie Healy-Thow**, Global Youth Campaign Coordinator of Action4Food and **Jen Leung**, Deputy Director of the Redford Institute. > Moderator: **Erik Aasheim**, journalist, author and conference speaker. > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2021 was made possible with support from the City of Oslo, and was part of Oslo Peace Days, a collaboration between the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the University of Oslo, the City of Oslo, the Nobel Peace Center, and the Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). - [Afghanistan](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/afghanistan): Finding a Way Forward > ![Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2022](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135669-1667472319/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2022/Forum2022_Invit_SoMe2.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg ) > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2022 focused on how to find a way forward for . After the withdrawal of international troops in 2021 and more than a year under the Taliban, the freedom and basic human rights of the Afghan people, especially women, continue to deteriorate. The Nobel Peace Prize Forum also addressed the crucial question of whether and how the West should engage with the Taliban. > Program: > Keynote speaker: **Filippo Grandi**, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 1954 and 1981. > Participants: **Hillary Clinton**, Former Secretary of State, USA, **Anniken Huitfeldt**, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway, **Zarifa Ghafari**, Afghan activist, politician and former mayor, **Hassina Syed**, Afghan businesswoman and politician, **Peter Jouvenal**, expert and former reporter, and **Åsne Seierstad**, journalist and author. > Moderator: **Erik Aasheim**, journalist, author and conference speaker. > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2022 was organized by the Norwegian Nobel Institute and made possible with support from the University of Oslo, the City of Oslo and the International Forum for Understanding. > The forum is part of Oslo Peace Days, a collaboration between the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the University of Oslo, the City of Oslo, the Nobel Peace Center, and the Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). - [Iran](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/nobel-peace-prize-forum/iran-1): Burning for Democracy > ![Forum 2023](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136231-1699432340/_Events/Forum2023_Invit_1920%20x%201080_v4.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg ) > The Nobel Peace Prize Forum focused on the fight for human rights and democracy in , with an emphasis on the situation for women. The goal of the Forum was to give the audience an opportunity to learn more about the situation ians are facing in their daily lives, and how the rest of the world can understand the problems both within and the region. > Program: > Keynote speaker: **Agnès Callamard**, Secretary General of Amnesty International who won the Peace Prize in 1977. > Other participants: **Shirin Ebadi**, Nobel Peace Prize winner 2003, ,** Masud Gharahkhani**, President of the Storting, Norway, **Marjane Satrapi**, Oscar-nominated film director, artist and cartoonist, , **Nazanin Boniadi**, actress and activist, UK/, **Elahe Tavakolian**, exiled activist, , **Shima Babaei**, exiled activist, , **Mehrdad Darvishpour**, activist and sociologist, Sweden/, **Olav Njølstad**, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Norway. > Moderator: **Erik Aasheim**, journalist, author and conference host. > Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2023 was organized by the Norwegian Nobel Institute and made possible with support from the University of Oslo. > The forum is part of Oslo Peace Days, a collaboration between the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the University of Oslo, Oslo Municipality, the Nobel Peace Center and the Institute for Peace Research (PRIO). - [Nukes](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nukes-how-to-counter-the-threat-1/): How to Counter the Threat > ![Forum 2024](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137103-1730896082/_Research/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%20Forum/2024/730x487-grafikk.png%20%28custom_size%29.webp ) #### [Teacher's Course](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/research/what-we-do/teacher-s-course/) ## [About us](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/about-us/) ### [Nobel Institute](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/about-us/nobel-institute/) ### [Nobel Committee](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-committee/) > The Norwegian Nobel Committee was established by the Norwegian Storting in 1897, tasked with selecting Nobel Peace Prize laureates. - [The Committee's mission](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/nobel-committee/the-committee-s-mission) > Under the provisions of Alfred Nobel’s will, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is charged with awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the person or organisation that has conferred the greatest benefit to humankind in the field of peace during the preceding year. > The terms of the will provide additional guidance as to the types of pursuits that should be given special emphasis in selecting Nobel Peace Prize laureates. The Committee is also responsible for arranging an award presentation ceremony in Oslo each year on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. These are the Committee’s chief duties as provided in the will and the statutes of the Nobel Foundation. > Accordingly, it is not the Committee’s role to comment on what a peace laureate may do or say in the years after receiving the prize. It is similarly outside the Committee’s remit to retract a prize once awarded. Nobel Foundation statutes make it clear that the opportunity to do so does not exist. ### [Nobel network](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/about-us/nobel-network/) ### [The building](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/building/) ### [Alfred Nobel Norwegian Memorial Foundation](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/about-us/Alfred-Nobel-Norwegian-Memorial-Foundation/) ## [Career](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/career/) ## [Search](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/search/) ## [Tags](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/tags/) ## [Login](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/login/) > Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc pulvinar diam eu sapien egestas, eget facilisis nisl ultrices. ## [Articles](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/) - [Is it possible to revoke a Nobel Peace Prize?](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/is-it-possible-to-revoke-a-nobel-peace-prize): It is not possible to revoke a Nobel Peace Prize. Neither Alfred Nobel’s will nor the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation mention any such possibility. > According to the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, § 10, “No appeals may be made against the decision of a prize-awarding body with regard to the award of a prize”. > None of the prize awarding committees in Stockholm and Oslo has ever considered to revoke a prize once awarded. > As a matter of principle, the Norwegian Nobel Committee will not comment upon what the Peace Prize Laureates may say and do after they have been awarded the prize. The Committee’s mandate is restricted to evaluate the work and efforts of the nominated candidates up to the moment it is decided who shall be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for a given year. > A Nobel Prize can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others. Once the announcement has been made, the decision stands for all time. > This does not prevent the Committee from following the future endeavours of laureates closely, even though it expresses neither its concerns nor its acclamation. - [Disarmament and Armament Dynamics in the Present World](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/disarmament-and-armament-dynamics-in-the-present-world): Mini-talks from the seminar Disarmament and Armament Dynamics in the Present World. Filmed at the Norwegian Nobel Institute 23 May. > John Cerone on *"Legal and political obstacles to accountability for the use of chemical weapons in the Syria conflict".* > Denise Garcia on *"International Legal Arms Limitations and Evolving Dynamics Today"* > Jacek Kugler on *"The Problem of Nuclear Parity: Conditional Deterrence and Disarmament Dynamics in the Present World"* > Andrew Futter on *"Emerging Technologies and the Future of Global Nuclear Order"* > Calin Trenkov-Wermuth on *"Deploying the Devil’s Advocate: The Future Use of Red Teams to Enhance the Global Nuclear Security Architecture"* > David Churchman on *"The Search for an Elusive Peace in Our Multipolar World"* > Luke A. Nichter on *"Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., A Coup, and Nuclear Weapons in the Vietnam War"* - [The Nobel Peace Prize 2021](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/the-nobel-peace-prize-2021): The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov > The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace. Ms Ressa and Mr Muratov are receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia. At the same time, they are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions. > Maria Ressa uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines. In 2012, she co-founded Rappler, a digital media company for investigative journalism, which she still heads. As a journalist and the Rappler’s CEO, Ressa has shown herself to be a fearless defender of freedom of expression. Rappler has focused critical attention on the Duterte regime’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign. The number of deaths is so high that the campaign resembles a war waged against the country’s own population. Ms Ressa and Rappler have also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse. > Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov has for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions. In 1993, he was one of the founders of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Since 1995 he has been the newspaper’s editor-in-chief for a total of 24 years. Novaya Gazeta is the most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power. The newspaper’s fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media. Since its start-up in 1993, Novaya Gazeta has published critical articles on subjects ranging from corruption, police violence, unlawful arrests, electoral fraud and ”troll factories” to the use of Russian military forces both within and outside Russia. > Novaya Gazeta’s opponents have responded with harassment, threats, violence and murder. Since the newspaper’s start, six of its journalists have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaya who wrote revealing articles on the war in Chechnya. Despite the killings and threats, editor-in-chief Muratov has refused to abandon the newspaper’s independent policy. He has consistently defended the right of journalists to write anything they want about whatever they want, as long as they comply with the professional and ethical standards of journalism. > Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is convinced that freedom of expression and freedom of information help to ensure an informed public. These rights are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protect against war and conflict. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov is intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights. > Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time. This year’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize is therefore firmly anchored in the provisions of Alfred Nobel’s will. > Oslo, 8 October 2021 > Download announcement text in pdf > English (PDF, 61KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/134883-1634123424/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Announcement_Nobel_Peace_Prize_2021.pdf | French (PDF, 56KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/134886-1634123444/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Announcement_Nobel_Peace_Prize_2021_fre.pdf | Spanish (PDF, 55KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/134889-1634123446/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Announcement_Nobel_Peace_Prize_2021_spa.pdf | Russian (PDF, 114KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/134895-1634123451/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Announcement_Nobel_Peace_Prize_2021_rus.pdf - [Nobel Peace Prize 2021 - Nobel Lectures and speeches](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nobel-peace-prize-2021-nobel-lectures-and-speeches): Read and download the Nobel Lectures and speeches from the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony 2021 > **Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Berit Reiss-Andersen** > Presentation speech - Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2020 World Food Programme > English (PDF, 46KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135080-1639131981/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Chair_Speech_WorldFoodProgramme_ENG.pdf | Russian (PDF, 93KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135092-1639132633/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Chair_Speech_WorldFoodProgramme_2021_RUS.pdf | Norwegian (PDF, 46KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135080-1639131981/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Chair_Speech_WorldFoodProgramme_ENG.pdf > **Nobel Lecture - Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2020 World Food Programme, delivered by David Beasley** > English (PDF, 69KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135083-1639131981/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/WorldFoodProgramme_Nobel_Lecture.pdf | Russian (PDF, 225KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135104-1639132633/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/WorldFoodProgramme_Nobel_Lecture_RUS.pdf | Norwegian (PDF, 73KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135116-1639132791/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/WFP_Nobel_Lecture_norsk.pdf > **Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Berit Reiss-Andersen** > Presentation speech Nobel Peace Prize Laureates 2021, Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov > English (PDF, 55KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135077-1639131981/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Chair_Speech_Ressa_Muratov_eng.pdf | Russian (PDF, 111KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135095-1639132633/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Chair_Speech_Ressa_Muratov_RUS.pdf | Norwegian (PDF, 57KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135110-1639132772/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Chair_Speech_Ressa_Muratov_nor.pdf > **Nobel Lecture, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2021, Maria Ressa** > English (PDF, 72KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135089-1639131980/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Ressa_Nobel_lecture_ENG.pdf | Russian (PDF, 234KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135130-1639227395/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Ressa_Nobel_lecture_RUS_II.pdf| Norwegian (PDF, 70KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135113-1639132782/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Ressa_Nobel_lecture_NOR.pdf > **Nobel Lecture, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2021, Dmitry Muratov** > English (PDF, 81KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135086-1639131981/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Muratov_Nobel_Lecture_ENG_II.pdf| Russian (PDF, 232KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135101-1639132633/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Muratov_Nobel_lecture_RUS.pdf | Norwegian (PDF, 71KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135119-1639132804/_Dokumenter/Presse/2021/Taler/Muratov_Nobel_lecture_NOR.pdf - [2021 Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/2021-nobel-peace-prize-award-ceremony): The Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 was awarded to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace. > ![Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov receive their medals and diplomas](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135216-1641459964/_Articles/2021%20award%20ceremony/1_award%20ceremony.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Jo Straube.) > The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony took place at the Oslo City Hall on 10 December 2021. Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov were presented the diploma and gold medal, and gave their Nobel Lectures. > Moreover, the World Food Programme, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020, was represented at the ceremony by its Executive Director David Beasley. Mr. Beasley delivered the Nobel Lecture on behalf of the World Food Programme. > Watch the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony here. - [Nobel Peace Prize for 2022](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nobel-peace-prize-for-2022): The Nobel Peace Prize 2022 is awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties > The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the to one individual and two organisations. > The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy. > This year’s Peace Prize is awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties. > Ales Bialiatski was one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s. He has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country. Among other things, he founded the organisation Viasna (Spring) in 1996 in response to the controversial constitutional amendments that gave the president dictatorial powers and that triggered widespread demonstrations. Viasna provided support for the jailed demonstrators and their families. In the years that followed, Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners. > Government authorities have repeatedly sought to silence Ales Bialiatski. He was imprisoned from 2011 to 2014. Following large-scale demonstrations against the regime in 2020, he was again arrested. He is still detained without trial. Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus. > The human rights organisation Memorial was established in 1987 by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union who wanted to ensure that the victims of the communist regime’s oppression would never be forgotten. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and human rights advocate Svetlana Gannushkina were among the founders. Memorial is based on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones. > After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Memorial grew to become the largest human rights organisation in Russia. In addition to establishing a centre of > documentation on victims of the Stalinist era, Memorial compiled and systematised information on political oppression and human rights violations in Russia. Memorial became the most authoritative source of information on political prisoners in Russian detention facilities. The organization has also been standing at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on rule of law. > When civil society must give way to autocracy and dictatorship, peace is often the next victim. During the Chechen wars, Memorial gathered and verified information on abuses and war crimes perpetrated on the civilian population by Russian and pro-Russian forces. In 2009, the head of Memorial’s branch in Chechnya, Natalia Estemirova, was killed because of this work. > Civil society actors in Russia have been subjected to threats, imprisonment, disappearance and murder for many years. As part of the government’s harassment of Memorial, the organisation was stamped early on as a “foreign agent”. In December 2021, the authorities decided that Memorial was to be forcibly liquidated and the documentation centre was to be closed permanently. The closures became effective in the following months, but the people behind Memorial refuse to be shut down. In a comment on the forced dissolution, chairman Yan Rachinsky stated, “Nobody plans to give up.” > The Center for Civil Liberties was founded in Kyiv in 2007 for the purpose of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine. The center has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy. To develop Ukraine into a state governed by rule of law, Center for Civil Liberties has actively advocated that Ukraine become affiliated with the International Criminal Court. > After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Center for Civil Liberties has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population. In collaboration with international partners, the center is playing a pioneering role with a view to holding the guilty parties accountable for their crimes. > By awarding the to Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighbour countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Through their consistent efforts in favour of humanist values, anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalized and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations – a vision most needed in the world today. > Oslo, 7 October 2022 > Download announcement text in pdf > English (PDF, 44KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135588-1666861208/_Dokumenter/Presse/2022/Kungj%C3%B8ring/Nobel%20Peace%20Prize%202022.pdf| Belarusian (PDF, 101KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135582-1666860751/_Dokumenter/Presse/2022/Kungj%C3%B8ring/Nobels%20fredspris%202022_bel.pdf | Russian (PDF, 81KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135579-1666860742/_Dokumenter/Presse/2022/Kungj%C3%B8ring/Nobels%20fredspris%202022_russisk.pdf| Ukrainian (PDF, 81KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135585-1666860754/_Dokumenter/Presse/2022/Kungj%C3%B8ring/Nobels%20fredspris%202022_ukr.pdf - [The Speeches from the Nobel Peace Prize 2022 Ceremony](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/the-speeches-from-the-nobel-peace-prize-2022-ceremony) > ![Fredsprisseremonien 2022](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135801-1670755614/_Nobel%20Peace%20Prize/Nobel_10des_Foto_Jo_Straube_04.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.jpg Photo: Jo Straube / Nobel Prize Outreach) > Here you may download all the Speeches held at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony 2022. > **Presentation speeche of the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Berit Reiss-Andersen** > Norwegian (PDF, 71KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135735-1670752811/_Taler/2022/Chair_Presentation_Speech_NOR.pdf | English (PDF, 67KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135741-1670752824/_Taler/2022/Chair_Presentation_Speech_ENG.pdf | Belarusian (PDF, 110KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135759-1670752839/_Taler/2022/Chair_Presentation_Speech_BEL.pdf | Russian (PDF, 227KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135753-1670752835/_Taler/2022/Chair_Presentation_Speech_RUS.pdf | Ukrainian (PDF, 130KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135756-1670752837/_Taler/2022/Chair_Presentation_Speech_UKR.pdf > **Nobel Lecture by Ales Bialiatski, represented by Natallia Pinchuk** > Norwegian (PDF, 71KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135738-1670752821/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Bialiatski_NOR.pdf | English (PDF, 96KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135792-1670752864/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Bialiatski_ENG.pdf | Belarusian (PDF, 249KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135786-1670752860/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Bialiatski_BEL.pdf | Russian (PDF, 250KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135762-1670752842/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Bialiatski_RUS.pdf | Ukrainian (PDF, 253KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135780-1670752855/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Bialiatski_UKR.pdf > **Nobel Lecture by Memorial, represented by Jan Rachinsky** > Norsk (PDF, 72KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135747-1670752831/_Taler/2022/Nobel_Lecture_Memorial_NOR.pdf | English (PDF, 73KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135765-1670752844/_Taler/2022/Nobel_Lecture_Memorial_ENG.pdf | Belarusisk (PDF, 208KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135771-1670752848/_Taler/2022/Nobel_Lecture_Memorial_BEL.pdf | Russian (PDF, 248KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135768-1670752846/_Taler/2022/Nobel_Lecture_Memorial_RUS.pdf | Ukrainian (PDF, 210KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135783-1670752857/_Taler/2022/Nobel_Lecture_Memorial_UKR.pdf > **Nobel Lecture by Center for Civil Liberties, represented by Oleksandra Matviichuk** > Norwegian (PDF, 71KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135744-1670752828/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Center_civil_liberties_NOR.pdf| English (PDF, 68KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135750-1670752833/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Center_civil_liberties_ENG.pdf | Belarusian (PDF, 185KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135774-1670752851/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Center_civil_liberties_BEL.pdf | Russian (PDF, 255KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135777-1670752853/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Center_civil_liberties_RUS.pdf | Ukrainian (PDF, 211KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/135789-1670752862/_Taler/2022/Nobel_lecture_Center_civil_liberties_UKR.pdf - [2023 Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/2023-nobel-peace-prize-award-ceremony): The Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 is awarded to Narges Mohammadi. > The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony will take place in Oslo City Hall on 10 December 2023. The representatives of the Peace Prize winner will receive a diploma and medal, and present Narges Mohammadi's Nobel lecture. > Narges Mohammadi will be represented by her children, Ali Rahmani and Kiana Rahmani. > Watch the ceremony here: - [Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 - announcement](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nobel-peace-prize-for-2023-announcement): The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all. > *Farsi translation (PDF, 111KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136073-1697100263/_Taler/2023/Announcement%202023%20-%20Farsi.pdf.* > "Zan – Zendegi – Azadi” > “Woman – Life – Freedom” > The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all. Her brave struggle has come with tremendous personal costs. Altogether, the regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. Ms Mohammadi is still in prison as I speak. > In September 2022 a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jina Amini, was killed while in the custody of the Iranian morality police. Her killing triggered the largest political demonstrations against Iran’s theocratic regime since it came to power in 1979. Under the slogan “Woman – Life – Freedom”, hundreds of thousands of Iranians took part in peaceful protests against the authorities’ brutality and oppression of women. The regime cracked down hard on the protests: more than 500 demonstrators were killed. Thousands were injured, including many who were blinded by rubber bullets fired by the police. At least 20 000 people were arrested and held in regime custody. > The motto adopted by the demonstrators – “Woman – Life – Freedom” – suitably expresses the dedication and work of Narges Mohammadi. > **Woman**. She fights for women against systematic discrimination and oppression. > **Life.** She supports women’s struggle for the right to live full and dignified lives. This struggle across Iran has been met with persecution, imprisonment, torture and even death. > **Freedom**. She fights for freedom of expression and the right of independence, and against rules requiring women to remain out of sight and to cover their bodies. The freedom demands expressed by demonstrators apply not only to women, but to the entire population. > In the 1990s, as a young physics student, Narges Mohammadi was already distinguishing herself as an advocate for equality and women’s rights. After concluding her studies, she worked as an engineer as well as a columnist in > various reform-minded newspapers. In 2003 she became involved with the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran, an organisation founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. In 2011 Ms Mohammadi was arrested for the first time and sentenced to many years of imprisonment for her efforts to assist incarcerated activists and their families. > Two years later, after her release on bail, Ms Mohammadi immersed herself in a campaign against use of the death penalty. Iran has long been among the countries that execute the highest proportion of their inhabitants annually. Just since January 2022, more than 860 prisoners have been punished by death in Iran. > Her activism against the death penalty led to the re-arrest of Ms Mohammadi in 2015, and to a sentence of additional years behind walls. Upon her return to prison, she began opposing the regime’s systematic use of torture and sexualised violence against political prisoners, especially women, that is practised in Iranian prisons. > Last year’s wave of protests became known to the political prisoners held inside the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Once again, Ms Mohammadi assumed leadership. From prison she expressed support for the demonstrators and organised solidarity actions among her fellow inmates. The prison authorities responded by imposing even stricter conditions. Ms Mohammadi was prohibited from receiving calls and visitors. She nevertheless managed to smuggle out an article which the New York Times published on the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini’s killing. The message was: “The more of us they lock up, the stronger we become.” From captivity, Ms Mohammadi has helped to ensure that the protests have not ebbed out. > Narges Mohammadi is a woman, a human rights advocate, and a freedom fighter. In awarding her this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour her courageous fight for human rights, freedom, and democracy in Iran. This year’s Peace Prize also recognises the hundreds of thousands of people who, in the preceding year, have demonstrated against the theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women. Only by embracing equal rights for all can the world achieve the fraternity between nations that Alfred Nobel sought to promote. The award to Narges Mohammadi follows a long tradition in which the Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Peace Prize to those working to advance social justice, human rights, and democracy. These are important preconditions for lasting peace. > Oslo, 6 October 2023 - [Speech and Nobel lecture - Nobel Peace Prize 2023](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/speech-and-nobel-lecture-nobel-peace-prize-2023): Here you can read the Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's speech and the Nobel lecture by Narges Mohammadi, given by her children Kiana and Ali Rahmani. > Click on the language you wish to read in to open a PDF-file of the speech or lecture. > **The Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen's speech:** > ENGLISH (PDF, 168KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136285-1702220227/_Taler/2023/Reiss-Andersen_ENG.pdf — NORWEGIAN (PDF, 136KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136276-1702220217/_Taler/2023/Reiss-Andersen_NOR.pdf — PERSIAN (PDF, 187KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136282-1702220224/_Taler/2023/Reiss-Andersen_FAR.pdf — FRENCH (PDF, 134KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136288-1702220230/_Taler/2023/Reiss-Andersen_FRE.pdf > **The Nobel lecture by Narges Mohammadi, given by her children Kiana og Ali Rahmani:** > ENGLISH (PDF, 82KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136270-1702220180/_Taler/2023/Narges_Mohammadi_ENG.pdf — NORWEGIAN (PDF, 78KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136279-1702220222/_Taler/2023/Narges_Mohammadi_NOR.pdf — PERSIAN (PDF, 164KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136294-1702224707/_Taler/2023/Narges_Mohammadi_FARSI.pdf — FRENCH (PDF, 104KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136291-1702220233/_Taler/2023/Narges_Mohammadi_FRE.pdf - [Nobel Peace Prize for 2024](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nobel-peace-prize-2024-announcement): The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo > [Japanese translation (PDF, 238KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136972-1729322916/_Taler/2024/Announcement_Nobel_Peace_Prize_2024%20Japanese.pdf] > The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again. > In response to the atomic bomb attacks of August 1945, a global movement arose whose members have worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of using nuclear weapons. Gradually, a powerful international norm developed, stigmatising the use of nuclear weapons as morally unacceptable. This norm has become known as “the nuclear taboo”. > The testimony of the Hibakusha – the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – is unique in this larger context. > These historical witnesses have helped to generate and consolidate widespread opposition to nuclear weapons around the world by drawing on personal stories, creating educational campaigns based on their own experience, and issuing urgent warnings against the spread and use of nuclear weapons. The Hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable, and to somehow grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons. > The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes nevertheless to acknowledge one encouraging fact: No nuclear weapon has been used in war in nearly 80 years. The extraordinary efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives of the Hibakusha have contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo. It is therefore alarming that today this taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure. > The nuclear powers are modernising and upgrading their arsenals; new countries appear to be preparing to acquire nuclear weapons; and threats are being made to use nuclear weapons in ongoing warfare. At this moment in human history, it is worth reminding ourselves what nuclear weapons are: the most destructive weapons the world has ever seen. > Next year will mark 80 years since two American atomic bombs killed an estimated 120 000 inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A comparable number died of burn and radiation injuries in the months and years that followed. Today’s nuclear weapons have far greater destructive power. They can kill millions and would impact the climate catastrophically. A nuclear war could destroy our civilisation. > The fates of those who survived the infernos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were long concealed and neglected. In 1956, local Hibakusha associations along with victims of nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific formed the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organisations. This name was shortened in Japanese to Nihon Hidankyo. It would become the largest and most influential Hibakusha organisation in Japan. > The core of Alfred Nobel’s vision was the belief that committed individuals can make a difference. In awarding this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour all survivors who, despite physical suffering and painful memories, have chosen to use their costly experience to cultivate hope and engagement for peace. > Nihon Hidankyo has provided thousands of witness accounts, issued resolutions and public appeals, and sent annual delegations to the United Nations and a variety of peace conferences to remind the world of the pressing need for nuclear disarmament. > One day, the Hibakusha will no longer be among us as witnesses to history. But with a strong culture of remembrance and continued commitment, new generations in Japan are carrying forward the experience and the message of the witnesses. They are inspiring and educating people around the world. In this way they are helping to maintain the nuclear taboo – a precondition of a peaceful future for humanity. > The decision to award the to Nihon Hidankyo is securely anchored in Alfred Nobel’s will. This year’s prize joins a distinguished list of Peace Prizes that the Committee has previously awarded to champions of nuclear disarmament and arms control. > The fulfils Alfred Nobel’s desire to recognise efforts of the greatest benefit to humankind. > Oslo 11.10.2024 - [Nobel Peace Prize 2024 - the speeches from the Ceremony](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nobels-fredspris-2024-talene-fra-seremonien-1): Here you can read the Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's presentation speech and the Nobel lecture by Nihon Hidankyo, represented by Mr. Terumi Tanaka > ![Illustration](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/136990-1730365893/_Events/carrier_image_FINAL.jpg%20%28custom_size%29.webp ) > Click on the language you wish to read in to open a PDF-file of the speech or lecture. > **Presentaton speech of the Chair of the Nobel Committee Jørgen Watne Frydnes** > Norwegian (PDF, 158KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137200-1733759234/_Dokumenter/Presse/2024/Overrekkelsestale_Nobel_Fredspris_2024.pdf - English (PDF, 116KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137197-1733759231/_Dokumenter/Presse/2024/Presentation_Speech_2024.pdf - 日本語 (PDF, 993KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137203-1733759781/_Dokumenter/Presse/2024/Joergen_Watne_Frydnes_Speech_Japanese_translation.pdf > **The Nobel Lecture by Nihon Hidankyo, represented by Mr. Terumi Tanaka** > Norwegian (PDF, 113KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137206-1733760007/_Dokumenter/Presse/2024/Nobelforedrag_Nihon-Hidankyo_2024.pdf- English (PDF, 186KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137209-1733760009/_Dokumenter/Presse/2024/Nobel_Lecture_2024_Nihon_Hidankyo.pdf - 日本語 (PDF, 428KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/137212-1733760012/_Dokumenter/Presse/2024/Nihon_Hidankyo_Nobel_Lecture_JP.pdf - [The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 to Maria Corina Machado](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nobels-fredspris-2025-1): for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. > The Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 goes to a brave and committed champion of peace – to a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness. > . > She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. > As the leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, Maria Corina Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times. > Ms Machado has been a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government. This is precisely what lies at the heart of democracy: our shared willingness to defend the principles of popular rule, even though we disagree. At a time when democracy is under threat, it is more important than ever to defend this common ground. > Venezuela has evolved from a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal, authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis. Most Venezuelans live in deep poverty, even as the few at the top enrich themselves. The violent machinery of the state is directed against the country’s own citizens. Nearly 8 million people have left the country. The opposition has been systematically suppressed by means of election rigging, legal prosecution and imprisonment. > Venezuela’s authoritarian regime makes political work extremely difficult. As a founder of Súmate, an organisation devoted to democratic development, Ms Machado stood up for free and fair elections more than 20 years ago. As she said: “It was a choice of ballots over bullets.” In political office and in her service to organisations since then, Ms Machado has spoken out for judicial independence, human rights and popular representation. She has spent years working for the freedom of the Venezuelan people. > Ahead of the election of 2024, Ms Machado was the opposition’s presidential candidate, but the regime blocked her candidacy. She then backed the representative of a different party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, in the election. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers mobilised across political divides. They were trained as election observers to ensure a transparent and fair election. Despite the risk of harassment, arrest and torture, citizens across the country held watch over the polling stations. They made sure the final tallies were documented before the regime could destroy ballots and lie about the outcome. > The efforts of the collective opposition, both before and during the election, were innovative and brave, peaceful and democratic. The opposition received international support when its leaders publicised the vote counts that had been collected from the country’s election districts, showing that the opposition had won by a clear margin. But the regime refused to accept the election result, and clung to power. > Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence. The Venezuelan regime’s rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair. > In its long history, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has honoured brave women and men who have stood up to repression, who have carried the hope of freedom in prison cells, on the streets and in public squares, and who have shown by their actions that peaceful resistance can change the world. In the past year, Ms Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people. > When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist. Democracy depends on people who refuse to stay silent, who dare to step forward despite grave risk, and who remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted, but must always be defended – with words, with courage and with determination. > Maria Corina Machado meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel’s will for the selection of a Peace Prize laureate. She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy. > Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard. In this future, people will finally be free to live in peace. > Texto del anuncio en español https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/artikler-1/el-comite-noruego-del-nobel-ha-decidido-otorgar-el-premio-nobel-de-la-paz-de-2025-a-maria-corina-machado - [2025 Nobel Peace Prize - livestream](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nobels-fredspris-2025-livestrom-1): The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday 10 October at 11:00 CEST. Follow the announcement here. - [The Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony 2025](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/the-nobel-peace-prize-ceremony-2025): The Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 has been awarded to María Corina Machado. > The Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony will take place in Oslo City Hall on 10 December 2025. The ceremony features artistic performances and the presentation speech delivered by the Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes. > This year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, María Corina Machado, will receive the gold medal and diploma. Machado will then deliver her Nobel Lecture. > Read the Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's speech here: NORWEGIAN (PDF, 256KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/138040-1769001369/_Taler/2025/Joergen_Watne_Frydnes_Tale_nor_260121.pdf - ENGLISH (PDF, 145KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/138037-1769001366/_Taler/2025/Joergen_Watne_Frydnes_Tale_ENG_260121.pdf - SPANISH (PDF, 184KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/138043-1769432044/_Taler/2025/Joergen_Watne_Frydnes_Tale_SPA_260126.pdf > Read the laureate's Nobel lecture: NORWEGIAN (PDF, 101KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/138025-1765359209/_Taler/2025/Maria_Corina_Machado_Nobelforedrag__ACSM.pdf - ENGLISH (PDF, 92KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/138022-1765359207/_Taler/2025/Maria_Corina_Machado_Nobel-Lecture_ACSM_2025.pdf - SPANISH (PDF, 67KB) https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/getfile.php/138019-1765359203/_Taler/2025/Maria_Corina_Machado_Discurso_ES_ACSM.pdf ## [Afghanistan - Finding a way forward](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/) - [Filippo Grandi](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/filippo-grandi): UN High Commissioner for Refugees > Elected by the UN General Assembly, became the 11th UN High Commissioner for Refugees on 1 January 2016. He leads UNHCR, which operates in 135 countries providing protection and assistance to the more than 100 million refugees, returnees, and internally displaced people, as well as stateless people. Grandi, an Italian national, has been engaged in international cooperation for 35 years and holds degrees in modern history and philosophy, as well as an honorary doctorate from the University of Coventry. - [Hillary Clinton](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/hillary-clinton): Former Secretary of State, USA > Hillary Rodham Clinton has served as Secretary of State, Senator from New York, First Lady of the United States, First Lady of Arkansas, a practicing lawyer and law professor, activist, and volunteer. As Secretary of State for President Barack Obama, she built a coalition for tough new sanctions against Iran that brought them to the negotiating table, and she brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that ended a war and protected Israel’s security. She was a forceful champion for human rights, internet freedom, and rights and opportunities for women and girls, LGBT people, and young people all around the globe. In July 2016, she became the first woman to earn a major party’s nomination for president and went on to earn 66 million votes. In November, Netflix released the Hillary and Chelsea Clinton-produced documentary *In Her Hands*, a feature about Afghanistan’s youngest mayor, Zarifa Ghafari, and her struggle to survive under Taliban rule after Western forces withdrew from the region. - [Anniken Huitfeldt](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/anniken-huitfeldt): Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway > is the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs (Labour Party). She was elected to the Storting (Norwegian parliament) in 2005 and has been a member since then.** **From 2013 to 2021 Ms. Huitfeldt chaired the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. > During the “Red-Green” government of Jens Stoltenberg Ms Huitfeldt was Minister of Children and Equality from 2008 to 2009, Minister of Culture from 2009 to 2012 and Minister of Labour from 2012 to 2013. > Ms Huitfeldt holds a master degree in history from the University of Oslo - [Zarifa Ghafari](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/zarifa-ghafari): Afghan activist and politician, former mayor > is an Afghan activist, politician, and entrepreneur. In November 2019, she became the mayor of Maidan Shahr, the capital city of the Wardak Province, Afghanistan. She is one of the only female mayors in Afghan history and the youngest – appointed at age 26. She is known for her efforts to advance women’s rights in Afghanistan. Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan’s government in mid-August 2021, Zarifa fled with her husband, mother, and five sisters. The German government granted her asylum, and she now resides in Germany. - [Hassina Syed](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/hassina-syed): Afghan businesswoman and politician > was recently named Afghanistan’s Businesswoman of the Year. She has also been hailed by Forbes magazine as one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs. She was the only female member of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the only woman to have taken part in official trade delegations led by former President Hamid Karzai. She has created multiple successful businesses over the past 20 years. is also a women’s rights activist and has been an advisory voice on the sidelines of the Doha peace talks. is married to Afghanistan expert and former reporter Peter Jouvenal. - [Peter Jouvenal](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/peter-jouvenal): Afghanistan expert and former reporter > is a British award-winning television producer currently based in the UK. He has also worked as a journalist covering the wars in Afghanistan since the Soviet occupation in the 1980s. Jouvenal filmed CNN’s 1997 interview with Osama bin Laden. In mid-December 2021, the Taliban detained him, along with four other British nationals for six months. Jouvenal has covered over fifteen different conflicts including Gulf War 1 and Gulf War 2. In 1992 from Kabul, he covered the Fall of the Afghan Communist regime. Jouvenal was the first western Journalist to visit the Taliban in Qandahar 4 days after they had captured the city, first westerner to meet Mullah Baradar and other senior members of the Taliban movement. Peter resided in Kabul under the previous Taliban regime. Peter has negotiated the release of thirty-two foreign Nationals held Captive in Afghanistan. All from six different nations, this includes 3 Soviet Soldiers left behind after the Soviet withdraw from Afghanistan and 3 UN workers captured in 2004. - [Åsne Seierstad](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/asne-seierstad): Journalist and author > is a journalist and writer. Seierstad was stationed in Russia from 1993-1996, and in China in 1997. From 1998 until 2000 she worked for Dagsrevyen on NRK and covered such events as the war in Kosovo. Later she covered conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, during the American invasion in 2003, for both Norwegian and Swedish TV. She debuted in 2000 with *With Their Backs to the World: Portraits of Serbia* and received accolades for her contentious publication *The Bookseller of Kabul* (2002), which was subject to both criticism and legal action. In 2013 she published the book *One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway* — *and Its Aftermath*, regarding Anders Breivik’s attacks of July 22, 2011. The book, based on unique source material made the *New York Times* bestseller list. Seierstad has received many national and international awards for her work, both as a journalist and an author. In October, she published her new book about Afghanistan after one year with the Taliban. - [Olav Njølstad](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/olav-njolstad): Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute > is Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. He is also an Adjunct Professor of international history at the University of Oslo. He has published extensively on topics such as the Cold War, the Second World War, the nuclear arms race, and the post-war history of Norway. In addition, Njølstad has authored two biographies, and is currently working on a biography of former Norwegian Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland. - [Erik Aasheim](https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/afghanistan-finding-a-way-forward/erik-aasheim): Moderator > has spent his 35 year-long career as a journalist, program host, podcast creator and author, including 15 years with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) as a program host and editor for several radio and TV shows. He also spent eight years working as a correspondent in Paris. Mr. Aasheim has been working as Senior Communications Advisor for two different Ministers of Climate and Environment in Norway. Additionally, he is the author of published biographies of the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre and the French-Norwegian judge and politician, Eva Joly. He is also the media advisor at the Norwegian Nobel Institute.