Nobel Peace Prize

Nomination

According to the statute of the Nobel Foundation, the following persons may nominate candidates ^[1] :

1. Members of national parliaments and governments of various countries;
2. Members of international courts;
3. University rectors; professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology; directors of research institutions for peace and foreign policy;
4. Persons awarded the Nobel Peace Prize;
5. Board members of organizations awarded the Nobel Peace Prize;
6. Current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee;
7. Existing and former advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Unlike other Nobel Prizes, a request from the Nobel Committee is not required to nominate a candidate.

Selection of laureates

According to the statute of the Nobel Foundation, the laureates are elected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, appointed by the Parliament of Norway.

The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize often caused fierce controversy in society ^{[2] [3] [4]} . One of the most odious examples is the awarding of Yasser Arafat , who received an award "for his efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East " in 1994 - just before the next crisis in Arab-Israeli relations ^[5] . A lot of questions were caused by the awarding ceremony of Barack Obama , held in 2009, when the newly elected American president had no objective merit yet ^[6] . The Nobel Prize for 2012 went to the European Union against the background of the financial crisis and tangible difficulties in the ideology of a united Europe ^[7] .

Some prizes were awarded in absentia, since the laureates were imprisoned, under house arrest or subjected to other restrictions on their freedom of movement:

• 1935 - Karl von Osetsky "For the fight against militarism in Germany"
• 1975 - Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov "For the fearless support of the fundamental principles of peace between people and a courageous fight against the abuse of power and any form of suppression of human dignity."
• 1983 - Lech Walesa "Like a fighter for human rights."
• 1991 - Aung San Suu Kyi, "As a Human Rights Advocate."
• 2010 - Liu Xiaobo “For a long non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China”

• The average age of the winner is 61 years. The youngest winner was Malala Yusufzai , who at the time of the award in 2014 was 17 years old. The oldest is 87-year-old Joseph Rotblat , who won an award in 1995.
• The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, American sociologist and philosopher, President of the International Women's League for Peace and Freedom, Jane Addams was nominated to receive the award 91 times. At the same time, E. G. Bolch , F. Nansen and T. Roosevelt were awarded the prize in the year of their first nomination ^[8] .

Russia and USSR

• Russian Emperor Nicholas II in 1901 became the first Russian nominee for the Nobel Prize as the initiator of the convening of the Hague Peace Conference of 1899, which adopted the Convention on the peaceful resolution of international clashes and on the laws and customs of land warfare. From 1901 to 1908, the eminent Russian international lawyer F. F. Martens , who was repeatedly elected as an arbitrator on the lists of the Permanent Chamber of the Court of Arbitration in The Hague, was nominated for the award ^[9] .
• Among those nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize was Leo Tolstoy , who urged not to nominate him for a literature award ^{[10] [9]} .
• In 1917, the government ^[11] (according to other sources — the workers' party ^[12] ) of Norway took the initiative of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Lenin for the “ Decree on Peace ” issued by Soviet Russia, which took it out of World War I in separate order. The Nobel Committee did not accept the application, explaining its decision by late submission of documents. At the same time he was told that the prize could be awarded in the future, subject to the establishment of peace in Russia by the Lenin government. However, due to the Civil War, the prize was not awarded ^[11] .
• The famous Russian artist, cultural and social activist N. K. Roerich was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize for the initiative of creating and signing the Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments ( Roerich Pact ) in 1929, 1933 and 1935 ^{[9] [ 13]} . The Pact was the first international act specifically dedicated to the protection of cultural property, the only agreement in this area, adopted by part of the international community before the Second World War . In 1954, the Roerich Pact formed the basis of the Hague International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict ^[14] .
• Joseph Stalin was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (1945, 1948) as the leader of a member country of the anti-Hitler coalition, which contributed to the defeat of Germany and its satellites ^{[10] [9]} . In addition, in 1945, Maxim Litvinov was also nominated for the award, who in the pre-war years made efforts to create a European security system, and in 1941-1943 he was the USSR ambassador to the United States. In 1948, Vyacheslav Molotov was nominated for his contribution to the creation of a new system of international relations ^[9] .
• In 1946 and 1947, the Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish parliamentarians and public figures nominated Alexander Kollontai for their efforts to maintain the USSR’s relations with Sweden at an acceptable level (during the Soviet-Finnish war, it ensured that Sweden did not enter the war on Finland’s side ) ^[9] .

Other countries

• The great Indian violent fighter Mahatma Gandhi was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize ^[10] , although he was nominated a total of 12 times ^[15] .
• B. Mussolini and A. Hitler were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935 and 1939. respectively ^[10] .
• Among those nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize was E. M. Remarque ^[10] .

• Nobel Peace Prize (Eng.) On the official website of the Nobel Prize
• Nobel Peace Prize (Eng.) On the official website of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
• Science and technology: Nobel laureates: Peace Prize (Rus.)