Oslo, Norway – The Nobel Peace Prize is set to be announced friday, with a field of 338 candidates - 244 individuals and 94 organizations – vying for the prestigious award. This year’s selection comes amid heightened global tensions and ongoing conflicts, placing particular focus on potential nominees involved in current peace efforts.
The Nobel Peace Prize, established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel’s will, recognizes individuals and organizations dedicated to promoting peace. past recipients have included figures like Martin luther King Jr., nelson Mandela, and, more recently, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who received the award in 2019 for his efforts to reach peace with Eritrea, though he later oversaw a brutal war in the Tigray region. Leaders from the Americas, including Costa Rica and Colombia, and human rights defenders from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine have also been honored.
This year, speculation centers on former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been nominated for his role in ongoing negotiations to end the war in Gaza. Both Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have publicly confirmed their nominations of Trump. The former president has repeatedly asserted his deservingness of the prize, claiming to have ended multiple wars, a claim disputed by fact-checkers like Politifact, who note several conflicts remain ongoing. Trump stated earlier this year, “they will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.”
Beyond Trump, other potential winners gaining attention include Sudan‘s Emergency Response Rooms, a volunteer network providing aid to civilians during the country’s civil war, and Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
While the Gaza ceasefire negotiations coudl bolster Trump’s chances, the Nobel committee historically prioritizes sustained peace efforts over short-term political gains. as of Thursday morning,bookmakers listed Trump and the Sudanese group as joint favorites,according to Oddschecker. The winner will be announced in Oslo on Friday.
