The Nobel Peace Prize is expected to be announced on Friday, October 10, with the highly anticipated event set to attract even more attention this time around amid US President Donald Trump's repeated claims about his worthiness.
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the Nobel Prizes established by the will of the Swedish inventor and weapons manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with prizes for chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine and literature.
With all the other prizes announced in recent days, all eyes are now on Friday's big reveal.
When will the Nobel Peace Prize be announced?
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on October 10 at 11:00 am Central European Summer Time (CEST), i.e. at 2:30 pm Indian Standard Time (IST).
How are nominees selected for the Nobel Peace Prize?
Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, where the Norwegian Nobel Committee itself determines the nominees and winners, the Nobel Peace Prize is unique in that anyone, anywhere can nominate an individual or an organization, as long as they meet the criteria to be considered a nominator.
The Nobel Peace Prize does not require an invitation from the Committee before a nominator nominates someone for the prize.
Who can nominate?
Eligible nominators for the Nobel Peace Prize include university chancellors and rectors; professors who teach political science, social science, history, philosophy, law and theology; people who lead peace research institutes and international affairs institutes; members of national parliaments; government officials and members of international courts; former Nobel Peace Prize laureates; board members of organizations that have received the award in the past; and finally, current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, as well as former advisors to the Nobel Institute.
Is the list of nominees public?
No, the list of Nobel Prize nominees is not made public. In fact, the full list of eligible nominees for any year's prizes will not be released for the next 50 years, according to the Nobel Foundation's statutes.
How long does the process from nomination to award take?
The process for selecting a Nobel Peace Prize winner takes about eight months, with the Nobel Committee reaching a decision on the winner “no later than early October,” when a winner is selected based on a simple majority vote. The decision is final, and perhaps more importantly (for this year): it cannot be appealed.
On what basis is a winner chosen?
According to Alfred Nobel's will, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to “the person who will have done the most or the best work for the fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of congresses of peace.”
The will specifies that the prize should be awarded to those who have “contributed the greatest benefit to humanity,” adding that “no regard will be paid to the nationality of the candidates, so that the most worthy will receive the prize, whether he is a Scandinavian or not.”
The interpretation of Nobel's will has also been expanded over time by the Nobel Committee to include efforts in human rights, democracy and environmental awareness as contributions to peace.
How many nominees are there for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize?
Although the names of the nominees are not made public, the Nobel Committee said this year's list includes 338 candidates: 244 individuals and 94 organizations.
Where does Trump play a role in all of this?
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he deserves the award based on his self-proclaimed role in stopping seven wars in seven months, followed by the first phase of the Gaza peace plan, which Israel and Hamas agreed to on October 9.
The US president has also received formal nominations from major international figures, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Pakistani army chief Asim Munir.
Furthermore, his appointment is publicly supported by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan (despite Trump's repeated blunders over the names of the two countries), as well as by the leaders of Gabon and Rwanda due to his role in mediating conflicts involving these countries.
Several Republican lawmakers have also submitted letters nominating Trump or supporting his nomination.
Backed by such figures, Trump has even gone on record saying that being rejected would be a “great insult” to the United States.
Understanding Trump's Eligibility
Although there were reports suggesting that the deadline for nominations closed on January 31, and as such the US President would not have been eligible, Newsweek reported that committee members had the right to add more nominees to the initial list at their first meeting on February 28, just over a month into Trump's second term.
Furthermore, the Nobel Committee debunked rumors on social media that the US president had been disqualified and “unequivocally denied that Trump had been removed from this year's list of nominees.” Newsweek reported.
So what are Trump's chances?
Despite Trump being nominated, as far as we know, experts remain skeptical about the US president's chances of winning the honor.
First, despite Trump's claims of mediating conflict, the Nobel Committee generally prioritizes sustained, long-term peace efforts over recent diplomatic developments whose durability has yet to be proven.
Second, Trump's “America First” policy and his withdrawal from international treaties such as the Paris Climate Agreement run counter to the Committee's focus on efforts to promote international brotherhood.
And third, Trump's very public lobbying for the honor is unlikely to go down well with the committee, experts say.
If not Trump, then who?
While Trump has indeed made headlines when it comes to the Nobel Peace Prize, reports suggest that other individuals and organizations could be a more realistic choice, including Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian politician Alexei Navalny, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, United Nations agencies such as UNRWA and the UNHCR, the Emergency Response Rooms of Sudan and international organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and Reporters Without. Boundaries.
