Norwegian Nobel Committee facts for kids
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Den norske Nobelkomité
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| Headquarters | Oslo, Norway |
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Membership
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5 members |
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is a special group that chooses who wins the Nobel Peace Prize each year. This prize was created by a Swedish inventor named Alfred Nobel. He left instructions in his will for how the prize should be given out.
Five people are chosen by the Norwegian Parliament to be on this committee. Alfred Nobel wanted the Parliament of Norway to pick the Peace Prize winners. At that time, Norway and Sweden were joined in a loose union. Even though Parliament chooses its members, the committee works as a private group. It is in charge of giving out a private award. In recent years, most committee members have been politicians who are no longer working in government.
The committee gets help from its office, called the Norwegian Nobel Institute. The committee holds its meetings in the institute's building. This is also where the winner of the prize is announced. However, since 1990, the award ceremony itself takes place at Oslo City Hall.
Contents
The History of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee
Alfred Nobel passed away in December 1896. In January 1897, his will was opened and read. He had written it in 1895. In his will, he said that a Nobel Peace Prize should be given. It was for "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for friendship between nations." This also included efforts to reduce armies and promote peace meetings. Some of Nobel's money was set aside for this prize.
The Nobel Foundation manages all of Nobel's money. Other Nobel Prizes were to be given by groups that already existed in Sweden. But the job of choosing the Peace Prize winner was given to the Norwegian Parliament. Specifically, it was to be chosen by "a committee of five persons to be elected" by the Parliament. This meant a brand new group had to be formed. This new group became the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
On April 26, 1897, the Norwegian Parliament agreed to take on this important task. On August 5 of the same year, they officially decided how committee members would be chosen. They also set rules for how long they would serve. The very first Peace Prize was given out in 1901. It was awarded to Henri Dunant and Frédéric Passy.
At first, the committee was made up of politicians who were still active in Parliament. Their yearly reports were even discussed in Parliament meetings. Over time, these close ties to the Norwegian Parliament became weaker. This made the committee more independent. Because of this, its name was changed in 1901. It became the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament. But in 1977, the name was changed back to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Today, politicians who are actively serving in Parliament cannot be on the committee. They can only join if they plan to leave Parliament very soon.
Even so, the committee is still mostly made up of politicians. In late 1948, the way members were chosen changed. This was to make sure the committee's members matched the different political parties in the Norwegian Parliament. This practice has continued, but some people have criticized it. There have also been ideas about having non-Norwegian members on the committee, but this has never happened.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee gets help from the Norwegian Nobel Institute. This institute was started in 1904. The committee often receives more than a hundred nominations for the prize. Every February, they ask the Nobel Institute to research about twenty of these candidates. The director of the Nobel Institute also works as the secretary for the Norwegian Nobel Committee. As of August 2025, Olav Njølstad holds this position.
Leaders of the Committee
Here is a list of the people who have led the Norwegian Nobel Committee:
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In January 1944, the government led by Vidkun Quisling tried to take control of the Nobel Committee. Because of this, Gunnar Jahn and other committee members resigned. The Swedish consulate in Oslo then officially took over managing the Nobel Foundation's property in Oslo.
Current Members of the Committee
The members of the committee as of 2025 are:
- Anne Enger, who used to lead the Centre Party and was a government minister. She was first chosen for 2018–2020 and then again for 2021–2026.
- Asle Toje (Vice Chair), a scholar who studies foreign policy. He was chosen for 2018–2023 and again for 2024–2029.
- Kristin Clemet, a former cabinet member from the Conservative Party. She used to represent Oslo in the Norwegian Parliament. She was chosen for 2021–2026.
- Jørgen Watne Frydnes (Chair), a businessman and leader of non-profit groups. He was chosen for 2021–2026.
- Gry Larsen, who used to be a secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Norway. She was chosen for 2024–2029.
The Secretariat: Helping the Committee
The committee gets help from the Norwegian Nobel Institute, which acts as its main office or secretariat. The person who leads the institute is called the secretary. The secretary is not a member of the committee itself. Instead, they are an employee of the Norwegian Nobel Institute.
Here is a list of the secretaries:
- 1901–1909: Christian Lous Lange
- 1910–1945: Ragnvald Moe
- 1946–1973: August Schou
- 1974–1977: Tim Greve
- 1978–1989: Jakob Sverdrup
- 1990–2015: Geir Lundestad
- 2015–2025: Olav Njølstad
- 2025–present: Kristian Berg Harpviken
See also
In Spanish: Comité Noruego del Nobel para niños
