Introduction to the Nobel Institute, Nobel Committee, Network, Architecture, Memorial Foundation, Research, History, Peace Prize, Winners, Contact Information

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