The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded on Friday in Oslo, with one of the main uncertainties being how it will be received by former President Donald Trump, according to reports from France Presse.
The winner or winners will be announced at 11:00 AM (12:00 PM Romania time) at the Nobel Institute.
In a world riddled with conflicts and crises, a total of 287 individuals and organizations have been nominated for this prestigious award this year.
Experts’ Consensus: Trump Is Not a Contender
Given that the identities of the winners have been kept under wraps for the past 50 years, making predictions this year is considered risky. However, experts agree on one thing: Donald Trump will not be among the recipients, despite his claims of having ended as many as eight wars and considering himself a meritorious candidate.
“They have a reputation for not awarding it to people like me (…) and I believe that would discredit the prize significantly. And I don’t say this out of contempt,” he stated on Wednesday.
In Oslo, Trump is generally viewed as unworthy of the award due to his ongoing war against Iran, territorial expansion tendencies such as those regarding Greenland, a hardline stance on migrants, and attacks on multilateralism and the press.
Regardless of the decision, the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s choice can be interpreted as a direct or indirect criticism of the Republican billionaire.
Potential Consequences for the Winner
According to Haakon Gjerløw, interim director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the committee must consider whether the Nobel Prize could do “more harm than good” to the laureate, given the potential backlash it might provoke in the White House.
Last year, the prize was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, a choice deemed acceptable by Trump.
Machado presented Trump with the gold medal shortly after the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by American troops – although she did not receive any political support in return.
The Nobel committee insists that it remains immune to external pressures. “Of course, we have to discuss this, but that does not influence the committee’s discussions or the decisions that come from them,” stated its secretary, Kristian Berg Harpviken, to AFP.
Possible Candidates Being Considered
A prize awarded in areas that generally garner consensus, such as child protection or humanitarian efforts, would be less likely to provoke anger from Trump, experts estimate.
Among the names mentioned are the NGO Save the Children, Ukrainian Mykola Kouleba – involved in the recovery of Ukrainian children taken forcibly by Russia, a cause close to Melania Trump – and Emergency Response Cells (ERR), a network of volunteers assisting populations affected by war and famine in Sudan.
Karim Haggag, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), has named ERR as his favorite candidate.
“The conflict in Sudan has unfortunately been forgotten. Yet, it involves a situation of enormous humanitarian suffering,” he emphasized.
Controversial Candidates That May Upset Trump
Other options that could further irritate the American president include UN Special Rapporteur for Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese, Pope Leo XIV, press freedom advocates (Committee to Protect Journalists…), or international justice entities (International Criminal Court and/or International Court of Justice).
Following the Nobel Peace Prize, the only Nobel award given in Oslo, the season will conclude on Monday in Stockholm with the Nobel Prize in Economics.
The Nobel awards kicked off on Monday, honoring Americans Karl Deisseroth and Germans Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their work aimed at uncovering the mysteries of the brain.
The following day, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Belgian Francis Halzen for his research on neutrinos, contributing notably to a better understanding of the origins of the universe.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Frenchman Henri Kagan and Japanese Kenso Soai for elucidating why only one of the two forms of certain molecules appears in nature.
Finally, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded on Thursday to Anne Carson for her “bold and inventive” work.
The Nobel Prizes, which consist of a diploma, a gold medal, and a check for 12 million Swedish crowns (approximately one million euros), will be officially presented on December 10.
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