The most prestigious prize in the field of science, art and humanitarian work, founded by the Swedish scientist, the father of dynamite, Alfred Nobel, is awarded annually in six categories. Among them, the Nobel Peace Prize attracts special attention.
According to the bequest of Nobel himself, the honor of being awarded the Peace Prize should be a person who made "the most significant contribution" to the abolition of slavery, the cause of uniting nations, "facilitating the holding of peaceful congresses" and reducing the number of world armies.
The Oslo-based Nobel Committee awards this prize by choosing a laureate from among the nominees nominated by members of the committee itself - current and former, governments of various states, the International Arbitration Court in The Hague, the Institute of International Law, other Peace Prize winners, professors of reputable universities. The selection has been made for more than a year, and the potential winner of the award is in the dark about his status, and the data on the candidates for the award has not been disclosed for another half century.
Special nomination
The Nobel Peace Prize is the only award for which not only a person, but also a public organization can become a contender.
The maximum number of awards to date, awarded to one laureate, was given in the category "Peace Prize" - the achievements of the International Committee of the Red Cross have been recognized three times.
The largest number of women laureates is represented precisely in the field of peacekeeping and legal activities.
Fifteen times, the Peace Prize was not awarded to any of the nominees, because the Nobel Committee did not see any truly worthy candidates among them.
Peace Prize Winners
The first award in this nomination in 1901 was shared by two figures at once. The first is Henri Dunant, a philanthropist, the actual founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who opposes slavery, defends the rights of prisoners of war - "for his contribution to the peaceful cooperation of peoples." The second is Frederic Passy, a political economist who opposes any armed conflicts due to their economic ineffectiveness, calling for the solution of international conflicts through arbitration - "for many years of peacemaking efforts."
The Nobel Peace Prize in different years was received by Martin Luther King, Andrei Sakharov, Mother Teresa, Henry Kissinger, Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Yasser Arafat, Jimmy Carter, Albert Gore, Barack Obama. Among the organizations whose activities have been marked with this award are UNICEF, IAEA, Médecins sans Frontières, UN Peacekeeping Forces, EU, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
