The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish and Norwegian: Nobels fredspris) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. Since March 1901,[9] it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) to people who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."[10] The Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary History describes it as "the most prestigious prize in the world."[11]
Nobel Peace Prize | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Outstanding contributions to peace: arms reduction, international cooperation, and organisations contributing to peace, and human rights contributions to peace[1] |
Location | Oslo, Norway |
Presented by | Norwegian Nobel Committee on behalf of the estate of Alfred Nobel |
Reward(s) | 11 million SEK (2023)[2][third-party source needed] 10 million SEK (2022)[3] |
First awarded | 10 December 1901[4] |
Currently held by | Nihon Hidankyo (2024)[5] |
Most awards | International Committee of the Red Cross (3) |
Website | nobelprize.org/peace |
"We who have fought against you, the Palestinians, we say to you today, in a loud and a clear voice; Enough of blood and tears. Enough!"
In accordance with Alfred Nobel's will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a five-member committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. The prize award ceremony is held in Oslo City Hall since 1990, previously in the assembly hall of the University of Oslo (1947–1989), Norwegian Nobel Institute (1905–1946), and the Parliament (1901–1904).
Due to its political nature, the Nobel Peace Prize has, for most of its history, been the subject of numerous controversies.
The 2024 prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo from Japan, an organisation formed by survivor groups of atomic bomb victims "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".[12][13]
Background
editAccording to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who in the preceding year "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".[14] Alfred Nobel's will further specified that the prize be awarded by a committee of five people chosen by the Norwegian Parliament.[15][16]
Nobel died in 1896 and he did not leave an explanation for choosing peace as a prize category. As he was a trained chemical engineer, the categories for chemistry and physics were obvious choices. The reasoning behind the peace prize is less clear. According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, his friendship with Bertha von Suttner, a peace activist and later recipient of the prize, profoundly influenced his decision to include peace as a category.[17] Some Nobel scholars suggest it was Nobel's way to compensate for developing destructive forces. His inventions included dynamite and ballistite, both of which were used violently during his lifetime. Ballistite was used in war[18] and the Irish Republican Brotherhood, an Irish nationalist organization, carried out dynamite attacks in the 1880s.[19] Nobel was also instrumental in turning Bofors from an iron and steel producer into an armaments company.
There is a well known, but possibly apocryphal, story that in 1888, after the death of his brother Ludvig, several newspapers published obituaries of Alfred by mistake.[20] One French newspaper condemned him for his invention of military explosives and this is said to have brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death.[21] The obituary stated, Le marchand de la mort est mort ("The merchant of death is dead"),[21] and went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday."[22][23][21] However, it has been questioned whether or not the obituary in question actually existed.[23]
It is also unclear why Nobel wished the Peace Prize to be administered in Norway, which was ruled in union with Sweden at the time of Nobel's death. The Norwegian Nobel Committee speculates that Nobel may have considered Norway better suited to awarding the prize, as it did not have the same militaristic traditions as Sweden. It also notes that at the end of the 19th century, the Norwegian parliament had become closely involved in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's efforts to resolve conflicts through mediation and arbitration.[17]
Nomination and selection
editThe Norwegian Parliament appoints the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Nomination
editEach year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee specifically invites qualified people to submit nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.[24] The statutes of the Nobel Foundation specify categories of individuals who are eligible to make nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.[25] These nominators are:
- Members of national assemblies and governments and members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
- Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Court of Justice at the Hague
- Members of Institut de Droit International
- Academics at the professor or associate professor level in history, social sciences, philosophy, law, and theology, university rectors, university directors (or their equivalents), and directors of peace research and international affairs institutes
- Previous recipients, including board members of organizations that have received the prize
- Present and past members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
- Former permanent advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Institute
The working language of the Norwegian Nobel Committee is Norwegian; in addition to Norwegian the committee has traditionally received nominations in French, German, and English, but today most nominations are submitted in either Norwegian or English. Nominations must usually be submitted to the committee by the beginning of February in the award year. Nominations by committee members can be submitted up to the date of the first Committee meeting after this deadline.[25]
In 2009, a record 205 nominations were received,[26] but the record was broken again in 2010 with 237 nominations; in 2011, the record was broken once again with 241 nominations.[27] The statutes of the Nobel Foundation do not allow information about nominations, considerations, or investigations relating to awarding the prize to be made public for at least 50 years after a prize has been awarded.[28] Over time, many individuals have become known as "Nobel Peace Prize Nominees", but this designation has no official standing, and means only that one of the thousands of eligible nominators suggested the person's name for consideration.[29] Indeed, in 1939, Adolf Hitler received a satirical nomination from a member of the Swedish parliament, mocking the (serious but unsuccessful) nomination of Neville Chamberlain.[30] Nominations from 1901 to 1971 have been released in a database.[31]
Selection
editNominations are considered by the Nobel Committee at a meeting where a shortlist of candidates for further review is created. This shortlist is then considered by permanent advisers to the Nobel institute, which consists of the institute's Director and Research Director, and a small number of Norwegian academics with expertise in subject areas relating to the prize. Advisers usually have some months to complete reports, which are then considered by the committee to select the laureate. The Committee seeks to achieve a unanimous decision, but it is not always possible. The Nobel Committee typically comes to a conclusion in mid-September, but occasionally the final decision has not been made until the last meeting before the official announcement at the beginning of October.[32]
Awarding the prize
editThe Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee presents the Nobel Peace Prize in the presence of the King of Norway and the Norwegian royal family on 10 December each year (the anniversary of Nobel's death). The Peace Prize is the only Nobel Prize not presented in Stockholm. The Nobel laureate receives a diploma, a medal, and a document confirming the prize amount.[33] The money awarded varies over time, depending on the profitability of the Nobel bequest's investments and the exchange rate to the recipient's local currency. Around 2020, typical awards were on the order of roughly 10 million SEK, which translated to roughly 1 million USD.[3]
Since 1990, the ceremony has taken place at Oslo City Hall.
From 1947 to 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was held in the Atrium of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law, a few hundred meters from Oslo City Hall. Between 1905 and 1946, the ceremony took place at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. From 1901 to 1904, the ceremony took place in the Storting (Parliament).[34]
Medal
editThe medal for the Peace Prize was designed by the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland in 1901. Vigeland's profile sculpture of Alfred Nobel differs from Erik Lindberg's profile of Nobel on the chemistry, literature, physics, and physiology or medicine medals. The dies for Vigeland's peace medal were made by Lindberg as Vigeland was not an engraver.[35] The reverse of the medal features three men in a 'fraternal bond' and the inscription "Pro pace et fraternitate gentium" ("For the peace and brotherhood of men").[35] The edge of the medal is inscribed with the year of its awarding, with the name of its recipient and "Prix Nobel de la Paix".[35]
Laureates
editAs of October 2023[update], the Peace Prize has been awarded to 111 individuals and 27 organizations; 19 women have won the Nobel Peace Prize, more than for any other Nobel Prize. Only two recipients have won multiple Prizes: the International Committee of the Red Cross has won three times (1917, 1944, and 1963) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has won twice (1954 and 1981).[36] Lê Đức Thọ is both the only person who refused to accept the Nobel Peace Prize and as of 2024, the only Vietnamese who has won the prize.[37]
Reception
editThis section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. (May 2024) |
Some commentators have suggested that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded in politically motivated ways for more recent or immediate achievements,[38] or with the intention of encouraging future achievements.[38][39] Some commentators have suggested that to award a peace prize on the basis of unquantifiable contemporary opinion is unjust or possibly erroneous, especially as many of the judges cannot themselves be said to be impartial observers.[40] Further criticism holds that the Nobel Peace Prize has become increasingly politicized, in which people are awarded for aspirations rather than accomplishments, which has allowed for the prize to be used for political effect but can cause perverse consequences due to the neglect of existing power politics, including the breakdown of fragile peace processes.[41]
In 2011, a feature story in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten contended that major criticisms of the award were that the Norwegian Nobel Committee ought to recruit members from professional and international backgrounds, rather than retired members of parliament; that there is too little openness about the criteria that the committee uses when they choose a recipient of the prize; and that the adherence to Nobel's will should be more strict. In the article, Norwegian historian Øivind Stenersen argues that Norway has been able to use the prize as an instrument for nation-building and furthering Norway's foreign policy and economic interests.[42]
In another 2011 Aftenposten opinion article, the grandson of one of Nobel's two brothers, Michael Nobel, also criticised what he believed to be the politicisation of the award, claiming that the Nobel Committee has not always acted in accordance with Nobel's will.[43]
Author Christopher Hitchens called the Nobel Peace Prize "a huge bore and a fraud" in his memoir Hitch-22.
Acclamation
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2024) |
Military cemeteries in every corner of the world are silent testimony to the failure of national leaders to sanctify human life.
- — Yitzhak Rabin, 1994 Nobel Peace Prize lecture[44]
Criticism of individual conferments
editNobel Peace Prize controversies often reach beyond the academic community. Criticisms that have been levelled against some of the awards include allegations that they were politically motivated, premature, or guided by a faulty definition of what constitutes work for peace.[45] The awards given to Mikhail Gorbachev,[46] Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat,[47][48] Lê Đức Thọ, Henry Kissinger,[49] Jimmy Carter,[50] Barack Obama,[51][52][53][54] Abiy Ahmed,[55][56][57] and the European Union[58] have all been the subject of controversy. The 1973 award to Henry Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ may have been the most controversial, with two members of the selection committee resigning in protest and widespread derision in the press.[49][59][60][61][62]
Notable omissions
editForeign Policy has listed Corazon Aquino, Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, U Thant, Václav Havel, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Fazle Hasan Abed as people who "never won the prize, but should have."[63][64]
The omission of Mahatma Gandhi has been particularly widely discussed, including in public statements by various members of the Nobel Committee.[65][66] The committee has confirmed that Gandhi was nominated in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and, finally, a few days before his assassination in January 1948.[67] The omission has been publicly regretted by later members of the Nobel Committee.[65] Geir Lundestad, Secretary of Norwegian Nobel Committee in 2006 said, "The greatest omission in our 106-year history is undoubtedly that Mahatma Gandhi never received the Nobel Peace Prize. Gandhi could do without the Nobel Peace prize, whether Nobel committee can do without Gandhi is the question."[68] In 1948, following Gandhi's death, the Nobel Committee declined to award a prize on the ground that "there was no suitable living candidate" that year. Later, when the Dalai Lama was awarded the Peace Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that it was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi."[69]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Behind the scenes of the Nobel Peace Prize". The Nobel Prize. 28 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "The Nobel Prize amounts". The Nobel Prize. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ a b Morris, Chris (5 October 2022). "Nobel Peace Prize winners actually get a lot of money. Here's how much they can expect". Fortune. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 1901". www.nobelprize.org. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2024". The Nobel Prize. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Rabin, Yitzhak (17 November 1996). The Rabin Memoirs, Expanded Edition with Recent Speeches, New Photographs, and an Afterword. University of California Press. p. 401. ISBN 978-0-520-20766-0.
Let me say to you, the Palestinians: We are destined to live together, on the same soil in the same land. We, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look into the eyes of parents and orphans, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children, we who have fought against you, the Palestinians – we say to you today in a loud and clear voice; Enough of blood and tears. Enough.
- ^ Dicus, Howard (1993). "1993 Year in Review: Israeli-Palestinian Peace Treaty". United Press International. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ "20 years on, Rabin's right-hand man regrets arguments won, and lost". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
- ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 1901". Nobel Foundation. 1972. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ^ "Nobel Peace Prize", The Oxford Dictionary of Twentieth Century World History
- ^ Palmowski, Jan (1 January 2008), "Nobel Peace Prize", A Dictionary of Contemporary World History, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199295678.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-929567-8, archived from the original on 29 March 2024, retrieved 6 April 2023
- ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2024". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Edwards, Christian (11 October 2024). "Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Japan's Nihon Hidankyo for efforts to rid world of nuclear weapons". CNN. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ "Excerpt from the Will of Alfred Nobel". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
- ^ Nordlinger, Jay (20 March 2012). Peace, They Say: A History of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Most Famous and Controversial Prize in the World. Encounter Books. p. 24. ISBN 9781594035999.
- ^ Levush, Ruth (7 December 2015). "Alfred Nobel's Will: A Legal Document that Might Have Changed the World and a Man's Legacy | In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress". blogs.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Why Norway?". The Norwegian Nobel Committee. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^ Altman, L. (2006). Alfred Nobel and the prize that almost didn't happen Archived 30 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine. New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2006.
- ^ BBC History – 1916 Easter Rising – Profiles – The Irish Republican Brotherhood Archived 1 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine BBC
- ^ Andrews, Evan (23 July 2020). "Did a Premature Obituary Inspire the Nobel Prize?". History Channel. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "Alfred Nobel". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015.
- ^ Makovsky, Ken (11 July 2011). "Nobel: How He Built His Reputation". Forbes.
- ^ a b Schultz, Colin (9 October 2013). "Blame Sloppy Journalism for the Nobel Prizes". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
- ^ a b "Who may submit nominations?". The Norwegian Nobel Committee. 8 October 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
- ^ "President Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize". Associated Press on yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ "Nominations for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Confidentiality". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Who may submit nominations – Nobels fredspris". Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ Merelli, Annelise (7 October 2016). "The darkly ironic 1939 letter nominating Adolf Hitler for the Nobel Peace Prize". Qz.com. Quartz Media. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Nomination Archive". Nobel Foundation. April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ "How are Laureates selected?". The Norwegian Nobel Committee. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
- ^ "What the Nobel Laureates Receive". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007.
- ^ "Prisutdelingen | Nobels fredspris". The Norwegian Nobel Committee. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ a b c "The Nobel Peace Prize Medal". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ Rothman, Lily (9 October 2015). "Why a Nobel Peace Prize Was Once Rejected". Time. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ a b Nichols, Michelle (9 October 2009). "Obama Peace Prize win has some Americans asking why?". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Taylor, Adam (17 September 2015). "Obama's peace prize didn't have the desired effect, former Nobel official reveals". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Murphy, Clare (10 August 2004). "The Nobel: Dynamite or damp squib?". BBC online. BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^ KREBS, RONALD R. (Winter 2009–10). "The False Promise of the Nobel Peace Prize". Political Science Quarterly. 124 (4): 593–625. doi:10.1002/j.1538-165X.2009.tb00660.x. JSTOR 25655740.
- ^ Aspøy, Arild (4 October 2011). "Fredsprisens gråsoner". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 4.
Nobelkomiteen bør ta inn medlemmer med faglig og internasjonal bakgrunn... som gjøre en like god jobb som pensjonerte stortingsrepresentanter.
- ^ Nobel, Michael (9 December 2011). "I strid med Nobels vilje". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norway. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ 1994 Nobel Peace Prize lecture (10 December 1994)
- ^ "Controversies and criticisms". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Rule, Sheila (16 October 1990). "Gorbachev Gets Nobel Peace Prize For Foreign Police Achievements". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Said, Edward (1996). Peace and Its Discontents: Essays on Palestine in the Middle East Peace Process. Vintage. ISBN 0-679-76725-8.
- ^ Gotlieb, Michael (24 October 1994). "Arafat tarnishes the Nobel trophy". The San Diego Union – Tribune. p. B7.
- ^ a b "Worldwide criticism of Nobel peace awards". The Times. London. 18 October 1973. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ Douglas G. Brinkley. The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey to the Nobel Peace Prize (1999)[page needed]
- ^ "Nobel chief regrets Obama peace prize". BBC News. 17 September 2015. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Surprised, humbled Obama awarded Nobel Peace Prize". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ Otterman, Sharon (9 October 2009), "World Reaction to a Nobel Surprise", The New York Times, archived from the original on 13 October 2009, retrieved 9 October 2009
- ^ "Obama Peace Prize win has some Americans asking why?". Reuters.com. 9 October 2009. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ Walsh, Declan (15 December 2021). "The Nobel Peace Prize That Paved the Way for War". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Anderson, Jon Lee (26 September 2022). "Did a Nobel Peace Laureate Stoke a Civil War?". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed: The Nobel Prize winner who went to war". BBC News. 11 October 2021. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Criscione, Valeria (7 December 2012). "Norwegian protesters say EU Nobel Peace Prize win devalues award". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
- ^ Helge Rognlien. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Fri. 23 February 2024. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/themes/bio-helge-rognlien Archived 11 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Einar Hovdhaugen. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Fri. 23 February 2024. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/themes/bio-einar-hovdhaugen Archived 12 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tønnesson, Øyvind (29 June 2000). "Controversies and criticisms". Nobel Committee. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024.
- ^ Nordlinger, Jay (30 November 2023). "Controversies and criticisms". The National Review. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024.
- ^ Kenner, David (7 October 2009). "Nobel Peace Prize Also-Rans". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ^ James, Frank (9 October 2009). "Nobel Peace Prize's Notable Omissions". NPR. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ a b Tønnesson, Øyvind (7 July 2022). "Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ "Your Questions About the Nobel Peace Prize!". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 23 March 2007.
- ^ "The Nomination Database for the Nobel Peace Prize, 1901–1956: Gandhi". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
- ^ "Relevance of Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century". Archived from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
- ^ "Presentation Speech by Egil Aarvik, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
External links
edit- "The Nobel Peace Prize" – Official webpage of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
- "The Nobel Peace Prize" at the official site of the Nobel Prize
- "National Peace Nobel Prize shares 1901–2009 by citizenship (or home of the organization) at the time of the award." – From J. Schmidhuber (2010): Evolution of National Nobel Prize Shares in the 20th Century at arXiv:1009.2634v1