The Norwegian Nobel Committee only provides the number of nominees, however surnames and names of organizations are disclosed only after 50 years. Before this time, the Committee does not confirm that any person or organization has or has not been nominated, so all media reports about the nominees are purely speculation.
This year's number of nominees is one of the highest in history. For comparison, last year there were 286 candidates: 197 individuals and 89 organizations. 2016 remains a record year, when 376 people and organizations were nominated.
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Who can nominate a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize?
In accordance with the statute of the Nobel Foundation, to submit candidates The following categories of people are eligible: members of the national assemblies and national governments of sovereign states, as well as current heads of state; members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague; members of the Institute of International Law; members of the International Council of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; university professors, emeritus professors and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology and religion, and university rectors and university directors, as well as directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes; people who received the Nobel Peace Prize; members of the board of directors or its equivalent in organizations that have received the Nobel Peace Prize; current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; former advisors to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Does Donald Trump have a chance for the Nobel Peace Prize?
Nominations to be valid, should be sent by January 31 of a given yearBut members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee may nominate additional people at the first meeting. This means that awarding the award to US President Donald Trump – which the person concerned himself is strongly pushing for – is unlikely, even for formal reasons, because the deadline for submitting nominations was only 11 days after he began his second term, so Trump's potential achievements occurred after that deadline.
Anyone can be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Even Hitler
Theoretically, any living person or functioning organization can be nominated for the award. The Committee has no influence on the validity of the applications submitted to it and the application itself is not an official title that a given person or organization can use.
An extreme example was the nomination of the leader of the Third German Reich, Adolf Hitler, in 1939. He was nominated by one of the members of the Swedish parliament who wanted to ridicule the nomination of the leading supporter of the policy of appeasement to Hitler, the then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, for the award.
What is the procedure for selecting the Nobel Peace Prize winner?
The Committee's first task is to discuss all nominees and create a shortlist of those who deserve closer consideration. The shortlisted candidates are then analyzed by the Committee's advisors and Norwegian and foreign experts.
The committee selects the winner at the last meeting before announcing the verdict in early October – this year the last meeting was held on Monday. Committee members try to select a winner by reaching consensus, but sometimes this is impossible and then the decision is made by a vote in which a simple majority of votes is enough.
The Nobel Committee consists of five people appointed by the Norwegian Parliament for a six-year term with the possibility of re-election. The composition of the Committee should reflect the balance of power in the Norwegian Parliament as much as possible. It is currently composed of: chairman Joergen Watne Frydnes, businessman and head of a non-profit organization; Anne Enger, former leader of the Center Party and Minister of Culture; Asle Toje, foreign policy expert; Kristin Clemet, former Conservative Party cabinet member and former MP; Gry Larsen, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Norway.
