How are winners selected for the Nobel Peace Prize?

Each year, a committee solicits nominations from thousands of select individuals (visit the page for a complete list of those eligible to submit nominations). These individuals must submit their nominations by February 1 of the year for which the nomination is being made.

The committee then seeks the help of experts in evaluating the nominations and offers their recommendations to the Prize Awarding Institution. The institution votes for the final winner or winners (the prize is sometimes shared). The winner is then announced in October, and the prize is presented December 10 (the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel) at the City Hall in Oslo, Norway.

Famous recipients of this prestigious prize include: Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk (1993), Mikhail Gorbachev (1990), the Dalai Lama (1989), Mother Teresa (1979), Amnesty International (1977), UNICEF (1965), and Martin Luther King Jr. (1964). Notably absent is Mohandas Gandhi. Although nominated five times, Gandhi never won the award.

B. John

Records and Content Management consultant who enjoys good stories and good discussion. I have a great deal of interest in politics, religion, technology, gadgets, food and movies, but I enjoy most any topic. I grew up in Kings Mountain, a small N.C. town, graduated from Appalachian State University and have lived in Atlanta, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Dayton and Tampa since then.