Norwegian Nobel Committee facts for kids
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Den norske Nobelkomité
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Membership
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5 Members |
The Norwegian Nobel Committee (Norwegian: Den norske Nobelkomité) is a special group that chooses who wins the Nobel Peace Prize each year. They do this for Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor who created the Nobel Prizes.
Alfred Nobel wrote in his will (a legal document about what happens to his money after he dies) that the Norwegian Parliament should pick the Peace Prize winner. At that time, Norway and Sweden were joined in a loose union. Even though the Norwegian Parliament chooses the committee members, the committee itself is a private group. It gives out a private prize, not a government award. Many members of the committee in recent years have been retired politicians.
The committee gets help from its office, called the Norwegian Nobel Institute. The committee meets in the institute's building. This is also where they announce the winner. However, since 1990, the award ceremony takes place at Oslo City Hall.
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How the Nobel Peace Prize Began
Alfred Nobel passed away in December 1896. In January 1897, his will was opened. He had written it in 1895. In his will, he said that a Nobel Peace Prize should be given to the person who "shall have done the most or the best work for friendship between nations." This person should also work "for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
Some of Nobel's money was set aside for this prize. The Nobel Foundation manages all of Nobel's money. Other Nobel Prizes are given out by Swedish groups that already existed. But the job of picking the Peace Prize winner was given to the Norwegian Parliament. They were asked to choose "a committee of five persons." This meant a new group had to be created: the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The Norwegian Parliament accepted this important job on April 26, 1897. On August 5 of the same year, they made rules for how committee members would be chosen and how long they would serve. The first Peace Prize was given in 1901 to Henry Dunant and Frédéric Passy.
At first, the committee included active members of Parliament. Their yearly reports were even discussed in Parliament meetings. Over time, the committee became more independent from the Norwegian Parliament. Its name was even changed for a while, but it went back to "Norwegian Nobel Committee" in 1977. Today, active members of Parliament cannot be on the committee.
Choosing the Peace Prize Winner
The Norwegian Nobel Committee gets help from the Norwegian Nobel Institute. This institute was created in 1904. The committee often receives more than a hundred nominations for the prize.
Every February, the committee asks 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. Currently, Olav Njølstad holds this position.
Who are the Members?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has five members. They are chosen by the Norwegian Parliament. Most of the members are politicians, often retired ones.
As of 2021, the members are:
- Berit Reiss-Andersen (chairperson, born 1954): She is a lawyer and used to work for the Minister of Justice. She has been on the committee since 2012.
- Anne Enger (born 1949): She used to be a leader of the Centre Party and a Minister of Culture. She joined the committee in 2018.
- Asle Toje (born 1974): He is a scholar who studies foreign policy. He joined the committee in 2018.
- Kristin Clemet: She was a cabinet member for the Conservative Party. She joined the committee in 2021.
- Jørgen Watne Frydnes: He joined the committee in 2021.
In January 1944, during World War II, the government of Vidkun Quisling tried to take control of the Nobel Committee. Because of this, the committee members resigned. The Swedish consulate in Oslo then took over managing the Nobel Foundation's property in Oslo.
Leaders of the Committee
- List of chairpersons
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The Nobel Institute and its Secretaries
The Norwegian Nobel Institute acts as the committee's office, or secretariat. The person who leads the institute is called the secretary. The secretary is not a member of the committee, but an employee of the Nobel Institute.
- List of 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–present: Olav Njølstad
See also
In Spanish: Comité Noruego del Nobel para niños
