Winning a Nobel Prize isn’t as easy as you think

Eric Milzarski
May 1, 2018 10:08 PM PDT
1 minute read
Winning a Nobel Prize isn’t as easy as you think

SUMMARY

There have been calls to award a Nobel Peace Prize to everyone involved with ending the Korean War, including President Donald Trump. Given that the award has a broad selection process, it’s much more competitive than you’d think and the …

There have been calls to award a Nobel Peace Prize to everyone involved with ending the Korean War, including President Donald Trump. Given that the award has a broad selection process, it's much more competitive than you'd think and the specifics about the process are often kept secret for fifty years.


Any person, group, or organization can be nominated after doing, in accordance to Alfred Nobel's will, "the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." The only officially recognized nominators include heads of state, former Nobel Peace Prize laureates, and current or former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The first ever recipient was Henry Dunant, the founder of the International Red Cross. His organization would win the award three more times.

Any submissions must be done begin in September and the absolute cut-off is February 1st. Between the beginning of February and the end of March, the list is combed through and a short list is prepared for April.

In 2018, there were 328 candidates and each of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee usually pick five nominees. Because of the secrecy around the process, the Nobel Committee combs through the maybe twenty-five candidates until September.

This year's front-runner is The White Helmets, a volunteer search and rescue organization that saved countless lives during the Syrian Civil War.
(United States Agency for International Development)

In October, the voting between the members begins and the winner is chosen. The decision is final and there are no appeals. Hence the secrecy. No one can be upset that they weren't picked if they didn't know they got that far. Once the voting has finished, it's announced to the world who the winner for that year will be.

Then comes the big day on December 10th. The new laureate receives their shiny golden award, a diploma, and a monetary prize. The prize money in 2017 was 9 million Swedish Kronas, which is $1,028,655 US Dollars. The prize money is often donated to which ever cause the recipient championed.

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