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Explainer-How is the Nobel Peace Prize decided?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which consists of five individuals appointed by the Norwegian parliament. Members are often retired politicians, but not always.
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Reuters - Mon, 29, Sep 2025
- 15:21 EDT
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FILE PHOTO: A sign for the Norwegian Nobel Institute is seen on a wall inside the institute's building in Oslo, Norway, September 9, 2025. / REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo
The winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Oct. 10. Here is a look at how the award works:
WHO DECIDES?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which consists of five individuals appointed by the Norwegian parliament. Members are often retired politicians, but not always. The current committee is led by the head of the Norwegian branch of PEN International, a group defending freedom of expression. Another member is an academic.
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They are all put forward by Norwegian political parties and their appointments reflect the balance of power in Norway's parliament.
WHO CAN WIN?
The short answer is: whoever fits the description set out in the 1895 will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel. It says the prize should go to the person "who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses".
The more complicated answer is that the prize "needs to be placed in the current context", according to Kristian Berg Harpviken, the award committee's secretary, who prepares the work for the award body. He participates in the deliberations but does not vote.
"They will look at the world, see what is happening, what are the global trends, what are the main concerns, what are the most promising processes that we see," he told Reuters.
"And processes here can mean anything from a specific peace process to a new type of international agreement that is under development or that has recently been adopted."
WHO CAN NOMINATE?
Thousands of people can propose names: members of governments and parliaments; current heads of state; university professors of history, social sciences, law and philosophy; and former Nobel Peace Prize laureates, among others.
This year there are 338 nominees. The full list is locked in a vault for 50 years.
HOW DOES THE COMMITTEE DECIDE?
Nominations close on Jan. 31. Members of the committee can make their own nominations no later than their first meeting in February.
They discuss all the nominations, then establish a shortlist. Each nominee is then assessed and examined by a group of permanent advisers and other experts.
The committee meets roughly once a month to discuss the nominations. The decision tends to be taken in August or in September, said Harpviken.
The committee seeks to reach a consensus on its selection. If it cannot, the decision is made by majority vote.
The last time a member quit in protest was in 1994, when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shared the prize with Israel's Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin.
WHO IS NOMINATED?
While the full list of nominations is kept secret, nominators are free to disclose them. There is no way of verifying they have done as they have said.
Among the names disclosed this year are the International Criminal Court, NATO, jailed Hong Kong activist Chow Hang-tung and Canadian human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler.
The leaders of Cambodia, Israel and Pakistan have said they nominated U.S. President Donald Trump. Their nominations were made in spring and summer, after the January 31 deadline, so they are not valid for the 2025 prize.
COULD TRUMP WIN?
Only if he changes his policies, according to Nobel experts who argue that he is at present dismantling the international world order the award committee cherishes.
Instead, the committee may wish to highlight a humanitarian organisation, journalists, or a United Nations institution, they say. Or they could spring a surprise.
Last year's winner was Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo. The threat of nuclear weapons has been a long-standing focus of the committee.
WHAT DOES THE LAUREATE GET?
A medal, a diploma, 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.19 million) and immediate global attention.
WHEN ARE THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE CEREMONY?
The announcement will be made at 1100 CET (0900 GMT) on Oct. 10 at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo by the committee's chair, Joergen Watne Frydnes.
The ceremony will take place at the Oslo City Hall on Dec.10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
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