Nobel Institute
The Norwegian Nobel Institute
© The Norwegian Nobel Institute. Photo: Geir Anders Rybakken Ørslien
For assistance with the scrutiny necessary for the prize adjudication and for promoting the objectives of the Foundation in other ways, the prize-awarding bodies may establish Nobel Institutes.
Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, § 12
Nobel Committee secretariat
The Norwegian Nobel Institute was established 1 February, 1904, tasked with supporting the Nobel Committee in its review of nominations and candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. According to § 12 of the Nobel Foundation statutes, each Nobel Institute shall be under the leadership of the prize-awarding body that established it. The Director of the Institute is the Nobel Committee's permanent secretary, and the Institute can be regarded as the Committee's secretariat. The events in December are all planned and coordinated through this office.
Physical location
The first few years the Institute rented offices in Victoria Terrasse in downtown Oslo, but by May 1905 the move was made to the present building in Henrik Ibsens gate 51. The award ceremony was moved there the same year, having previously taken place in the Storting (Norwegian Parliament). The building, originally constructed in 1867 as a private residence, had by then undergone extensive renovation.
Internal and external functions
The Institute contains offices, a meeting room, the Grand Hall, a research department, library and reading room. The Nobel Committee meets in a special meeting room devoted exclusively to this purpose. The tradition has gradually developed of using the Institute’s Grand Hall both for the announcement of the year's Peace Prize in October and for the Laureate's press conference on 9 December, the day before the award ceremony in Oslo City Hall.
Public activities
The Nobel Institute arranges meetings, lectures and seminars, as well as so-called Nobel Symposia. The symposia are attended by specially invited academic scholars, experts and decision-makers from many countries who gather to discuss selected topics relating to peace and conflicts.
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Nobel Committee
The Norwegian Nobel Committee
The Norwegian Nobel Committee was established by the Norwegian Storting in 1897, tasked with selecting Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
According to Alfred Nobel's will, the prize to champions of peace is to be awarded by a committee of five persons, to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. The rules subsequently adopted by the Storting state that the members of the Nobel Committee are elected for six years terms, and can be re-elected. As far as possible, the composition of the Committee is to reflect the relative strengths of the political parties in the Storting. The Committee chooses its own chairman and deputy chairman. The Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute serves as the Committee's secretary.
The adjudication needed for the award of the Peace Prize shall be carried out by the committee of the Norwegian Storting referred to in the will, known as the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, § 6
Early decades
During the early decades of the Committee's work, it was normal for both incumbent representatives of the Storting and government ministers to be members. The first Committee thus consisted of Prime Minister Johannes Steen, Foreign Minister Jørgen Løvland, Storting representative John Lund, Professor of Law Bernhard Getz, and the national bard Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.
Committee member criteria changes
With this heavy representation by prominent politicians, it became difficult over time to convince the surrounding world that the Committee was not influenced in its work by Norwegian authorities. In 1936, in connection with the Nobel Peace Prize award to Carl von Ossietzky, the practice was changed so as to bar current members of the Government from sitting on the Committee. In 1977, out of continued regard for the Committee's independence, a practice was imposed whereby current members of the Storting could no longer be elected to the Nobel Committee. At the same time, the Committee changed its name from the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Storting to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
In 2017 the Storting formally decided that sitting members of Parliament are not eligible for membership in the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Follow this link for information about the Committee's mission.
Nobel Committee meeting room
The Nobel Committee conducts all its meetings in a special committee room at the Nobel Institute. The interior was designed by architect Carl Berner. On the walls of the committee room there are photo portraits of all individual laureates and the logos of all prize-winning institutions and organizations.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, 2025. From left: Anne Enger, Kristian Berg Harpviken (secretary), Gry Larsen, Kristin Clemet, Asle Toje (vice chair) og Jørgen Watne Frydnes (chair). © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Geir Anders Rybakken Ørslien.
Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
Jørgen Watne Frydnes
Jørgen Watne Frydnes (b. 1984)
Chair of the Nobel Committee. Member of the Committee since 2021. Appointed for the period 2021-2026.
Asle Toje
Asle Toje (b. 1975)
Vice chair of the Nobel Committee. Member of the Committee since 2018, reappointed for the period 2024-2029.
Anne Enger
Anne Enger (b. 1949)
Member of the Committee since 2018, reappointed for the period 2021-2026.
Kristin Clemet
Kristin Clemet (b. 1957)
Member of the Committee, appointed for the period 2021-2026.
Gry Larsen
Gry Larsen (f. 1975)
Member of the Committee, appointed for the period 2024-2029.
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Nobel network
The establishment of independent Nobel Prize selection committees to fulfill the purpose of Alfred Nobel's will, and a separate foundation tasked with over-seeing Nobel's financial legacy, has produced an intricate organizational model. These initial organizational units have since been supplemented by exhibitions centers, a rights management organization, and an information and media outfit, creating a network of organizations centred around a common core, the Nobel Prize.
The Nobel Foundation
The Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden, was established in 1900 in order to manage the financial legacy of Alfred Nobel, soon also the annual Nobel week in December. With time, institutions like Nobel Prize Outreach and Nobel Group Interests have been added to the organizational infrastructure, tasked with organizing legal affairs, common administrative burdens, information management, branding, intellectual property rights and outreach activities. Read more here.
The Nobel Peace Center
Nobel Peace Center is the museum of the Nobel Peace Prize. The center opened in June 2005 and aims to tell the story of the peace prize laureates and their work, Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Peace Prize. The center also serves as an arena for current social debate. Read more on Nobel Peace Center's website.
The Nobel Prize Museum
Nobel Prize Museum was established in 2001 and is located in Stockholm. Based on the Nobel Prize's combination of fields - natural sciences, literature and peace - the museum hosts exhibitions, school programmes, lectures and dialogues about the great issues of our time. Read more on Nobel Prize Museum's website.
The building
© The Norwegian Nobel Institute. Photo: Elis Nilsson
The Nobel Institute has been located in the venerable building on Henrik Ibsen street (former Drammensveien) since 1905. The property is owned by the Nobel Foundation, with the Norwegian Nobel Committee and Nobel Institute having been granted exclusive usage rights.
... the Nobel Foundation hereby transfers said property to the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Storting, to control, utilize and manage, free of charge... As a result, the Nobel Foundation has no right, without the consent of the committee, to sell or mortgage the property or possess any part of it.
Notarized letter, dated 12 December 1903
Architecture
The owner of the building at the time of purchase in 1903 was consul general Chr. Christophersen. The well-known architects Carl and Jørgen Berner were commissioned to carry out the reconstruction. Carl Berner designed much of the interior in the art nouveau style popular at the time, as opposed to the neo-classical design of the exterior. The meetings of the Nobel Committee were for many years held on the second floor, but in the late 1940s the committee room was moved one floor up to make room for staff offices on the second floor. Most of the original furniture from the committee room has been preserved, and when the Nobel Committee members convene they still take their seats around the table designed by Jørgen Berner in 1905.
Modernization
The exterior of the building underwent extensive reconstruction in 1947 in conjunction with the expansion of Drammensveien and the raised level of adjoining streets. A renovation of the building’s interior was initiated simultaneously, and the Committee room was relocated one floor up from its original placement. The library was expanded in 1954 and was granted more space for stacks. The interior of the building also underwent comprehensive renovation and modernization in 1984-85, 1991 and 1997. During the latter two of these projects, the buildings attic and the second floor in the porters lodge were transformed into research offices.
Conservation
The building’s exterior and original interior were listed in 1995 as worthy of preservation and protection. The conservation assessment strongly advised reverting the building to its original architectural expression, detailing and material when undertaking larger renovation projects. This appeal was used as a guide during the renovations of the administration and library offices in 2014 and 2015. After the renovation the rooms' ceiling, moldings, and parquet floors pay tribute to the original carpentry from 1905. A few strips of the original wallpaper was found hidden behind two drywalls now removed. These strips have been cleaned and preserved, and were the foundation for the selection of colors on the remaining walls.
Renovation
Similar renovation projects where initiated in the Great Hall in 2015 and 2016. The original color from 1905 was brought back, making the details on the ceiling stand out more clearly. Additionally, the chandeliers were cleaned crystal by crystal, and the windows were given new valances. In 1905 the Great Hall featured natural brick doorways and columns, and veined marbled dados. These were later covered with plaster and paint, but the original details were uncovered during the summer of 2016 with financial support from the City of Oslo Cultural Heritage Management Office. The modern paint was removed layer by layer, exposing the historical walls, columns and doorway, bringing them back into the light.
The original rostrum from 1905 has also been carefully restored and placed on a refurbished stage floor. With the exception of the chairs and the stage backdrop, the Great Hall now presents itself as it did when the Nobel Institute moved in at the beginning of the last century.
In 2020, the building's facade and window frames were painted in what are assumed to be the original colours.
Alfred Nobel Norwegian Memorial Foundation
© The Norwegian Nobel Institute Foto: Geir Anders Rybakken Ørslien
Establishment of the Alfred Nobel Norwegian Memorial Foundation
The Alfred Nobel Norwegian Memorial Foundation was established on 14 October 2022 by the Swedish Alfred Nobel Memorial Foundation for the purpose of providing long-term financial support to the Norwegian Nobel Institute to ensure the operation of the institute and its independence. The creation of the foundation was the result of several years of focused efforts aimed at improving the institute's financial situation. The plan called for the new foundation to manage a fund of NOK 230 million allocated by the Storting (Norwegian Parliament), with the return on the fund providing an annual operating grant to the institute of approximately NOK 6 million.
Background
From the mid-1990s, the invested capital of the Swedish Nobel Foundation increased significantly in value. The Nobel prize-awarding committees, including the Norwegian Nobel Committee, were provided with more resources. Over time, the Norwegian Nobel Institute also generated significant income from the Peace Prize concerts in Oslo and from a partnership with the Mint of Norway on the sale of Peace Prize commemorative medals abroad. Altogether the institute had a solid financial foundation that allowed for new hiring and an increased level of activity, particularly in the research field.
The financial crisis of 2008-2009 led to a substantial decline in the value of the Nobel Foundation's assets. In 2012, the operating grant to the prize committees was reduced by 10 percent and remained at the same level until 2023.
For the Norwegian Nobel Institute, this tightening was especially painful, partly because it coincided with a sharp reduction in income from the Peace Prize concerts and the sale of commemorative coins. The annual operating grant from the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm was also paid in Swedish currency, which in the 2010s was about 10 percent weaker than the Norwegian krone even as the cost of living in Norway was about 20 percent higher than in Sweden.
Searching for a Solution
The situation was further complicated by the fact that the Norwegian Nobel Committee had long been significantly more expensive to operate than the Swedish Nobel Prize committees. Norway's higher cost of living was part of the explanation. The Nobel Foundation also had significant maintenance expenses for the Nobel Institute's property in Oslo, Henrik Ibsens gate 51, which the Nobel Foundation had purchased in 1903 and made available to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Last but not least, the Swedish prize committees received direct or indirect financial support from the City of Stockholm and the Swedish state, while the Norwegian Nobel Institute received only limited support earmarked for operating its library.
At a meeting in Stockholm in the spring of 2015, the executive director of the Nobel Foundation at the time, Lars Heikensten, and the new director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Olav Njølstad, agreed that exploratory talks should be undertaken to see if Norwegian municipal and state authorities would be willing to assume similar responsibility for the Norwegian Nobel Institute's financial framework. The director received full support from the Nobel Committee to make such inquiries. Over the next few years, several initiatives were pursued to obtain state and/or municipal support, but without success.
Up Against the Wall
By the spring of 2019, the situation had become so serious that the director warned the Nobel Committee that the institute's equity would soon be lost if it did not receive increased operating funds. This would necessitate a reduction in activity, downsizing of the staff and, in the worst-case scenario, sale of the property at Henrik Ibsens gate 51. The director of the institute and the Nobel Committee's chair, Berit Reiss-Andersen, were tasked with presenting the matter to the President of the Storting and the Secretary General of the Storting. On 25 April 2019 a meeting took place in the office of the President of the Storting during which the institute's challenges and potential solutions were outlined.
In the following months, the director held additional meetings with the Storting Administration while members of the Nobel Committee met with the parliamentary leaders of the parties represented in the committee. As a result of these consultations, on 8 September the Nobel Institute sent a letter to the President of the Storting that she could use as a basis for informing the Presidium.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Nobel Committee to put the matter on hold, so as not to burden the Storting more than necessary during a very challenging time for the country. In early May 2020, dialogue with the Presidium of the Storting resumed, but it came to an abrupt halt when the Presidium concluded that the matter was not up to it to address.
On 12 October 2020, the director of the Nobel Institute delivered a letter to the Storting's Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs applying for financial support. For unclear reasons, this letter was not answered until the beginning of May the following year. In its response, the standing committee stated that it could only address matters referred to it by the Storting.
The situation remained at a standstill until late May 2021, when the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv published a series of articles on the institute's difficult financial situation. In interviews with committee chair Reiss-Andersen and director Njølstad it was revealed that there was a real danger the Nobel Foundation would have to sell Henrik Ibsens gate 51. If that happened, the Nobel Committee would also have to consider moving the Nobel Institute's operations to Stockholm.
Dagens Næringsliv argued in an editorial that Norwegian authorities should safeguard the Norwegian Nobel Institute's financial operating conditions. Other leading newspapers followed. A common theme was that it would be a national disgrace if the Nobel Institute were to relocate to Sweden.
The Storting Takes Action
At this point the Storting signalled that it wanted to contribute to a resolution of the matter. At the request of the Presidium, the Nobel Institute prepared a detailed new account of the institute's operational situation.
On 18 November 2021, the matter was introduced in the Storting and assigned to the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs. An important milestone was passed on 11 May 2022, when rapporteur Peter Christian Frølich and deputy chair Lubna Jaffery of the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs met at the Storting with the executive director of the Nobel Foundation, Vidar Helgesen, and director Njølstad. At the meeting it became clear that it would be possible to find a solution serving the interests of the Nobel Foundation, the Norwegian Nobel Institute and the Storting alike.
The Pieces Fall into Place
On Friday 17 June 2022, the director of the Nobel Institute and the executive director of the Nobel Foundation had a follow-up meeting with representatives of the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs. The meeting resulted in a shared understanding that became the core of the standing committee's final recommendation. The main points of the recommendation were: (1) the Storting allocates NOK 300 million to a fund to be managed by a newly established foundation, (2) NOK 70 million of the amount is used to purchase the property at Henrik Ibsens gate 51 from the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, and (3) the annual return on the fund is used to cover the Nobel Institute's operating expenses so that the institute can remain at Henrik Ibsens gate 51 for eternity. It is noteworthy that, as part of the solution, the Nobel Foundation allowed the Norwegian Nobel Institute to acquire the property for an amount equivalent to approximately half of its estimated market value (NOK 145 million).
In the final adjustment of the 2022 national budget, on 21 December 2022, the Storting approved a one-time allocation of NOK 300 million to the Alfred Nobel Norwegian Memorial Foundation, of which NOK 230 million remained in the Memorial Foundation after the purchase of Henrik Ibsens gate 51. It was now up to the Memorial Foundation to ensure that the goal of an annual return of NOK 6 million, sufficient to secure the Norwegian Nobel Institute's finances in the long term, would actually be achieved.
--
Olav Njølstad
Director at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, 12 September 2024
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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.
With regard to the Peace Prize, the will of Alfred Nobel stipulated that it was to be awarded to the person who 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. Over the course of time the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded in recognition of many different kinds of peace work and concepts of peace.
In the earliest years of the Peace Prize - up to World War I - the prize was often awarded to pioneers of the organized peace movement. In the inter-war years, the focus shifted to active politicians who sought to promote international peace, stability and justice by means of diplomacy and international agreements, but prizes were also awarded for humanitarian work (Nansen, the League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).
Since World War II, the Peace Prize has principally been awarded to honour efforts in four main areas: arms control and disarmament, peace negotiation, democracy and human rights, and work aimed at creating a better organized and more peaceful world. In the 21st century the Nobel Committee has embraced efforts to limit the harm done by man-made climate change and threats to the environment as relevant to the Peace Prize.
To read about the globalisation of the Nobel Peace Prize, follow this link. You may also find a list of women laureates on this website.
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 (1936).
The award in 1960 to the South African human rights activist Albert John Lutuli was the beginning of a gradual globalization of the Peace Prize, which picked up speed in the 1980s and 1990s.
Women laureates
Only 19 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, twelve women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
List of Nobel Peace Prize awarded women:
Narges Mohammadi (2023)
Maria Ressa (2021)
Nadia Murad (2018)
Malala Yousafzai (2014)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2011)
Leymah Gbowee (2011)
Tawakkol Karman (2011)
Wangari Muta Maathai (2004)
Shirin Ebadi (2003)
Jody Williams (1997)
Rigoberta Menchú Tum (1992)
Aung San Suu Kyi (1991)
Alva Myrdal (1982)
Mother Teresa (1979)
Betty Williams (1976)
Mairead Corrigan (1976)
Emily Greene Balch (1946)
Jane Addams (1931)
Bertha von Suttner (1905)
History
The Nobel Peace Prize and the other Nobel Prizes were established by the Swedish inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel through his last will.
When the Swedish businessman Alfred Nobel passed away in 1896, he left behind what was then one of the world’s largest private fortunes. In his last will Nobel declared that the whole of his remaining fortune of 31, 5 million Swedish crowns was to be invested in safe securities and should constitute a fund the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind
Will
The will specified in which fields the prizes should be awarded – physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature and peace – and which criteria the respective prize committees should apply when choosing their prize recipients. According to the will the Nobel Peace Prize was to be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses.”
Norwegian Nobel Committee
Alfred Nobel’s will declared that the Nobel Peace Prize was to be awarded by a committee of five persons selected by the Norwegian Storting (parliament). The Storting accepted the assignment in April 1897, and the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Storting was set up in August of the same year. Read more about the Norwegian Nobel Committee (as it is now known) here.
Nobel Foundation
In Sweden, however, Nobel's will triggered a lengthy legal battle with parts of the Nobel family. It was not until this conflict had been resolved, and financial matters had been satisfactorily arranged through the establishment of the Nobel Foundation in Sweden in 1900, that the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the other prize-awarding bodies could begin their work.
First award
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. The Peace Prize for that year was shared between the Frenchman Frédéric Passy and the Swiss Jean Henry Dunant.
Nomination
Each year the Norwegian Nobel Committee receives several hundred nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Nomination
The Norwegian Nobel Institute registered a total of 338 candidates for the 2025 peace prize, of which 244 are individuals and 94 are organisations. For comparison, the Nobel Institute received valid nominations for 286 candidates last year, distributed among 197 individuals and 89 organisations. The highest number ever was received in 2016, and was 376 candidates.
Neither the names of nominators nor of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize may be divulged until 50 years have elapsed.
Nomination process
All living persons and active organizations or institutions are eligible candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. What is considered a valid nomination is defined by the Nobel Foundation’s statutes. In order for a nomination to be valid, it must be submitted no later than January 31. Submissions shall preferably be made through an online form.
Members of the Nobel Committee may add further names to the list during their first meeting after the nomination process is closed. In 2022 the first meeting of the committee was held 28 February.
After all the qualified nominations have been discussed, a short-list of the most interesting and worthy candidates is created. The candidates on the short-list are then subject to assessments and examinations done by the Nobel Committee's permanent advisers, together with other Norwegian or international experts.
As a rule, the Committee reaches a decision only at its very last meeting before the announcement of the year’s laureate(s) at the beginning of October. The Committee seeks to achieve consensus in its selection of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. On the rare occasions when this proves impossible, the decision is reached by a simple majority vote.
Follow this link for a detailed overview of the nomination process.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see a list of all of the nominees for this year's Nobel Peace Prize?
Contrary to common belief, there is no public list of the current year's nominees. Read more here.
Can you officially confirm if a nomination for this year's prize is real or not?
As a matter of principle, and according to the Nobel statutes, the Norwegian Nobel Institute can never confirm, or disconfirm, whether someone has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize until 50 years have passed.
Who can nominate?
Nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize require no invitation, but are only considered valid if submitted by a person who meets certain criteria. You may find the list of criteria on this website.
Who can be nominated?
Any person or organization can be nominated by anyone eligible to nominate. There is no vetting of nominations prior to the nomination deadline, hence the Norwegian Nobel Committee has no influence on the quality of the submissions. The task of the Committee is strictly limited to selecting the best candidate (or candidates) among the entire list of submissions. To simply be nominated is therefore not an official endorsement or honour extended by the Nobel Committee, and may not be used to imply affiliation with the Nobel Peace Prize or its related institutions.
Can I apply for the Nobel Peace Prize?
No, a personal application for an award will not be considered. Please see the list of criteria for nominators.
Is it possible to revoke a Nobel Peace Prize?
No. Neither Alfred Nobel’s will nor the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation mention any such possibility. For more information, click here.
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 articleThe 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 authorBjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who was a well-known peace activist in the 1890s. Or it may have been a combination of all these factors. (Source:nobelprize.org)
Laureates
Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2024
2024
Nihon Hidankyo
Japan
Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2023
2023
Narges Mohammadi
Iran
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2022
2022
Ales Bialiatski , Memorial and Center for Civil Liberties
Belarus, Russia and Ukraine
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2021
2021
Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov
Philippines and Russia
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2020
2020
World Food Programme
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2019
2019
Abiy Ahmed Ali
Ethiopia
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2018
2018
Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2017
2017
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Australia
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2016
2016
Juan Manuel Santos
Colombia
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2015
2015
National Dialogue Quartet
Tunisia
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2014
2014
Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai
India and United Kingdom
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2013
2013
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2012
2012
European Union
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2011
2011
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman
Liberia and Yemen
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2010
2010
Liu Xiaobo
China
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2009
2009
Barack H. Obama
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2008
2008
Martti Ahtisaari
Finland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2007
2007
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2006
2006
Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank
Bangladesh
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2005
2005
International Atomic Energy Agency and Mohamed ElBaradei
Austria and Egypt
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2004
2004
Wangari Maathai
Kenya
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2003
2003
Shirin Ebadi
Iran
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2002
2002
Jimmy Carter
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2001
2001
United Nations and Kofi Annan
USA and Ghana
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2000
2000
Kim Dae-jung
South Korea
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1999
1999
Doctors Without Borders
France
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1998
1998
John Hume and David Trimble
United Kingdom
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1997
1997
International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Jody Williams
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1996
1996
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos-Horta
East Timor
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1995
1995
Joseph Rotblat and Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
United Kingdom and Canada
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1994
1994
Yasser Arafat , Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin
Palestine and Israel
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1993
1993
Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk
South Africa
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1992
1992
Rigoberta Menchú Tum
Guatemala
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1991
1991
Aung San Suu Kyi
Burma
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1990
1990
Mikhail Gorbachev
USSR
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1989
1989
The 14th Dalai Lama
India
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1988
1988
United Nations Peacekeeping Forces
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1987
1987
Oscar Arias Sánchez
Costa Rica
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1986
1986
Elie Wiesel
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1985
1985
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1984
1984
Desmond Tutu
South Africa
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1983
1983
Lech Wałęsa
Poland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1982
1982
Alva Myrdal and Alfonso García Robles
Sweden and Switzerland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1981
1981
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Switzerland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1980
1980
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Argentina
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1979
1979
Mother Teresa
India
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1978
1978
Anwar al-Sadat and Menachem Begin
Egypt and Israel
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1977
1977
Amnesty International
United Kingdom
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1976
1976
Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan
United Kingdom
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1975
1975
Andrei Sakharov
USSR
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1974
1974
Seán MacBride and Eisaku Satō
Ireland and Japan
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1973
1973
Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho
USA and Democratic Republic of Vietnam
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1972
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1971
1971
Willy Brandt
Germany
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1970
1970
Norman Borlaug
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1969
1969
International Labour Organization
Switzerland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1968
1968
René Cassin
France
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1967
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1966
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1965
1965
United Nations Children's Fund
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1964
1964
Martin Luther King Jr.
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1963
1963
International Committee of the Red Cross and League of Red Cross Societies
Switzerland and France
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1962
1962
Linus Pauling
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1961
1961
Dag Hammarskjöld
Sweden
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1960
1960
Albert Lutuli
South Africa
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1959
1959
Philip Noel-Baker
United Kingdom
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1958
1958
Georges Pire
Belgium
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1957
1957
Lester Bowles Pearson
Canada
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1956
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1955
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1954
1954
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Switzerland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1953
1953
George C. Marshall
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1952
1952
Albert Schweitzer
France
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1951
1951
Léon Jouhaux
France
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1950
1950
Ralph Bunche
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1949
1949
Lord Boyd Orr
United Kingdom
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1948
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1947
1947
Friends Service Council and American Friends Service Committee
United Kingdom and USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1946
1946
Emily Greene Balch and John R. Mott
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1945
1945
Cordell Hull
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1944
1944
International Committee of the Red Cross
Switzerland
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1943
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1942
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1941
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1940
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1939
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1938
1938
Nansen International Office for Refugees
Switzerland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1937
1937
Robert Cecil, Viscount Cecil of Chelwood
United Kingdom
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1936
1936
Carlos Saavedra Lamas
Argentina
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1935
1935
Carl von Ossietzky
Germany
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1934
1934
Arthur Henderson
United Kingdom
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1933
1933
Sir Norman Angell
United Kingdom
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1932
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1931
1931
Jane Addams and Nicholas Murray Butler
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1930
1930
Nathan Söderblom
Sweden
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1929
1929
Frank B. Kellogg
USA
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1928
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1927
1927
Ferdinand Buisson and Ludwig Quidde
France and Germany
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1926
1926
Aristide Briand and Gustav Stresemann
France and Germany
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1925
1925
Sir Austen Chamberlain and Charles G. Dawes
United Kingdom and USA
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1924
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1923
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1922
1922
Fridtjof Nansen
Norway
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1921
1921
Hjalmar Branting and Christian Lange
Sweden and Norway
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1920
1920
Léon Bourgeois
France
Woodrow Wilson
USA
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1918
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1917
1917
International Committee of the Red Cross
Switzerland
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1916
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1915
No Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year
1914
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1913
1913
Henri La Fontaine
Belgium
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1912
1912
Elihu Root
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1911
1911
Tobias Asser and Alfred Fried
the Netherlands and Austria
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1910
1910
Permanent International Peace Bureau
Switzerland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1909
1909
Auguste Beernaert and Paul Henri d'Estournelles de Constant
Belgium and France
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1908
1908
Klas Pontus Arnoldson and Fredrik Bajer
Sweden and Denmark
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1907
1907
Ernesto Teodoro Moneta and Louis Renault
Italy and France
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1906
1906
Theodore Roosevelt
USA
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1905
1905
Bertha von Suttner
Austria
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1904
1904
Institute of International Law
Belgium
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1903
1903
Randal Cremer
United Kingdom
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1902
1902
Élie Ducommun and Albert Gobat
Switzerland
Nobel Peace Prize laureates 1901
1901
Henry Dunant and Frédéric Passy
Switzerland and France
Contact us
Address:
Henrik Ibsens gate 51
0255 Oslo
Phone:
+47 22 12 93 00
Email:
postmaster@nobelpeaceprize.org
The library
Phone:
+47 22 12 93 00
Email:
library@nobelpeaceprize.org
Opening hours (by appointment):
Monday - Friday: 09.00 - 15.00 (15 September - 14 May)
Monday - Friday: 09.00 - 14.30 (15 May - 14 September)
Saturdays and Sundays: Closed
