The Nobel Peace Prize committee is under close watch again this year as it prepares to announce the winner on October 9. Last year, US President Donald Trump's outspoken calls for the award put the five-member committee under unprecedented pressure. The situation became even more delicate when Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the laureate, gave Trump her Nobel gold medal, citing his efforts in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
The committee's secretary, Kristian Berg Harpviken, acknowledged that the panel is accustomed to lobbying and attempts to exert pressure. However, experts believe that the Trump saga may lead the committee to choose a laureate who enjoys broad consensus this year. "After last year's prize, maybe they're seeking a less controversial situation this year," said Haakon Gjerlow, acting director of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo.
Gjerlow suggested that a joint prize to Save the Children and Mykola Kuleba, a Ukrainian children's rights activist, would be a suitable choice. This option would also please Trump's wife Melania, who wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2025 pleading for the release of Ukrainian children illegally taken to Russia. Other potential winners include Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the International Space Station.
The Nobel committee's decision may also be influenced by the need to avoid controversy. Other possible choices could be the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese, the International Criminal Court, or Pope Leo XIV. The committee's selection process is closely watched, and the winner will be announced on October 9.
Meanwhile, the Nobel Prize for Literature will be announced on October 8. Speculation is already underway, with some critics suggesting that the Swedish Academy may choose a woman writer from Latin America. Argentine author Samanta Schweblin, 48, is considered a potential candidate, although some critics believe she may be too young for the award.
Other writers mentioned as potential candidates for the literature prize include Antiguan-American author Jamaica Kincaid, Chinese writer Can Xue, and Australian author Gerald Murnane. The Swedish Academy has faced criticism for its focus on male, Western authors in the past, but has made efforts to diversify its selections in recent years.
The Nobel Prize season begins with the medicine prize, which experts say could go to research into the GLP-1 appetite-regulating hormone. The physics prize will be announced on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday, and the economics prize on October 13. The Nobel Prize consists of a diploma, a gold medal, and a cheque for around $1.2 million, to be shared if there is more than one laureate in each discipline.
Key points
- The Nobel Peace Prize committee faces scrutiny after US President Donald Trump's intense campaigning last year.
- The committee may choose a laureate who enjoys broad consensus to avoid controversy.
- The Nobel Prize for Literature may be awarded to a woman writer from Latin America.
