What is the nomination and selection process for the Nobel Peace Prize?
Executive summary
The Nobel Peace Prize nomination and selection is a tightly regulated, largely confidential eight-month process in which qualified nominators submit names by January 31, the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee evaluates and shortlists candidates with expert reports, and the Committee decides the laureate—often by consensus but by majority vote if needed—with records sealed for 50 years [1] [2] [3]. The system mixes broad external input from a long list of eligible nominators with final authority concentrated in a small committee appointed by the Norwegian parliament, a design that invites both praise for inclusivity and criticism for opacity and political influence [4] [5] [6].
1. What counts as a valid nomination and who may nominate
A nomination is valid only if submitted by someone who meets the Nobel Foundation’s statutory categories—examples include university rectors and professors in certain fields, members of national assemblies, government ministers, past laureates and board members of previously awarded organizations—while self-nomination is forbidden and all living persons and active organisations may be nominated [4] [7] [2].
2. The calendar: when nominations open, close and enter the Committee’s hands
Nominations are solicited beginning in mid‑October with a formal deadline of January 31 for that year’s prize; valid nominations received by that deadline are handed to the Nobel Committee in mid‑February and launched into the eight‑month decision cycle [1] [7] [8].
3. Screening, short‑listing and expert reports
After validation, the five‑member Norwegian Nobel Committee sorts and reviews all submissions, cuts them to a shortlist by summer, and commissions detailed candidate reports from the Committee’s permanent advisers and external Norwegian and international experts to inform deliberations [1] [2].
4. Deliberations, decision rules and secrecy
The Committee meets regularly from mid‑February through September to narrow the field and deliberate; by late summer the shortlist is reduced to a handful and a final decision is normally reached between mid‑August and late September or early October, where consensus is common but a simple majority suffices, and the decision is final and without appeal [1] [2] [8].
5. Transparency limits, confidentiality and the 50‑year rule
The identities of nominees and nominators and the Committee’s internal records are not disclosed for 50 years, which means public “nominations” often rely on self‑reporting or leaks and the official archive remains closed until the half‑century mark [3] [6].
6. Institutional structure and criticisms of the process
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, a five‑person body appointed by Norway’s Storting, holds final authority for the Peace Prize—an arrangement unique among Nobel prizes that has prompted scrutiny of how committee members are chosen and accusations that politics sometimes shape outcomes, a contention echoed in historical controversies over contentious awards and in commentary about nominees who were repeatedly overlooked [5] [8] [6].
7. Practical implications and procedural flexibilities
The Committee retains procedural flexibility: it may at any stage reconsider previously unshortlisted candidates provided a valid nomination exists, Committee members may add names at their first post‑deadline meeting, and the broad eligibility of nominators aims to bring global diversity of suggestions even while the ultimate selection remains concentrated in a small Norwegian body [1] [7] [2].