The Nobel Peace Prize arrives each October with global attention, applause, and sometimes angry headlines. Few people, though, know exactly how the winner is chosen — a process that mixes legal instruction, parliamentary appointments, expert research, and nearly a year of quiet deliberation. This piece pulls back the curtain on how the prize is nominated, investigated, and finally awarded — and why, for decades, much of it remains confidential.
A short clause with a big job: Alfred Nobel’s will
The story begins in 1895, when Alfred Nobel signed his last will. He directed that a portion of his fortune be used to award prizes — including one “to the person who shall have done 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.” Those words set the prize’s legal and moral compass and gave Norway the responsibility for administering the Peace Prize. The wording is intentionally broad — and that breadth is precisely why the Committee has over time interpreted “peace work” to include everything from human-rights activism to conflict mediation and democratic resistance.
Who can propose a candidate — and why the pool is wide
Unlike many prizes where a committee itself generates nominees, the Nobel Peace Prize uses a very broad nominator system. Each year the Norwegian Nobel Committee invites qualified people and institutions worldwide to submit nominations: members of national assemblies and governments, international judges, university professors in selected fields, directors of peace-research institutes, former laureates, and similar categories of experts. Tens of thousands of people around the world are eligible to nominate, which helps the Committee receive suggestions from many regions and disciplines. Crucially, self-nomination is not allowed.
Because nominators include academics and political figures across continents, the nomination list often contains unexpected names — grassroots organisers, little-known NGOs, and sometimes well-known politicians. That variety is intentional: the prize seeks to surface work that advances peace through diverse routes, not only through headline diplomacy.
Timeline: from September invitations to October announcements
The annual rhythm is steady and deliberate. The Committee begins preparing to receive nominations in September. Nominations must arrive before the deadline around the turn of the year — for recent cycles the formal cut-off has been 31 January (or by 1 February in some descriptions), with late nominations considered for the following year in normal practice. After the deadline, the Committee compiles the full list and typically draws up a short list in February–March. Advisers prepare detailed reports through spring and summer, and the Committee normally reaches its decision in early October. The award ceremony then takes place on 10 December in Oslo.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee: five people, big responsibility
The Nobel Peace Prize is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee — a body of five members appointed by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting). Members are usually chosen to reflect, as far as possible, the political composition of the Parliament and are elected for six-year terms; they choose their own chair and deputy. While the Committee is appointed by a political body, it operates as a distinct institution with the purpose of executing Nobel’s will. In practice, many members have political backgrounds, but the Committee is supported by a professional secretariat and outside advisers.
The Committee seeks consensus, but when unanimity can’t be reached, a simple majority decides the laureate. That mix of collegiality and formal voting is part of why decisions sometimes surprise — the result has to pass the test of the Committee’s internal debate, not public opinion.
The short list, expert reports, and the role of advisers
Once nominations are in, the Committee’s work becomes forensic. From the full pile of valid nominations, a shortlist — often 20–30 names — is prepared for deeper scrutiny. The Nobel Institute’s permanent advisers (including the institute’s director and research director and a small group of academics) prepare written reports on shortlisted candidates. These reports pull in academic research, eyewitness testimony, legal analysis, and historical context. The Committee may also request assessments from outside experts, often from other countries, to deepen its understanding. This stage, which stretches across spring and summer, is where raw nominations become carefully contextualised dossiers.
This investigative process explains why winners are sometimes chosen for a body of work rather than a single act — the Committee evaluates evidence of sustained impact, not just a newsworthy moment. The advisers’ reports enable that longer view.
Secrecy and archives: why 50 years?
The Nobel institutions keep nominators’ and nominees’ names, and the Committee’s deliberations, closed to public view for 50 years. That rule, written into the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, is designed to protect the integrity of the process: it encourages free submissions, shields nominators and experts from political pressure, and prevents nominations from being turned into a spectacle. The archive is eventually opened for historians and researchers, which is why today we can read, for instance, the full lists and letters from decades past. But for the public at the time, the Committee’s work remains a matter of silence until the announcement day.
Politics, controversy, and the human element
It’s impossible to separate a global peace prize from politics. The Committee’s choices have often sparked debate: supporters argue the prize spotlights essential struggles, while critics say some laureates were political or premature picks. The Committee itself has acknowledged that it may err, but it does not revoke awards once given — a reflection of the prize’s role as recognition of work up to the moment it is awarded, not as ongoing endorsement of everything a laureate does later.
Behind every laureate there’s a human story — years of effort, risk, and sometimes sacrifice. Whether the laureate is an international mediator, a grassroots organiser, or an organisation protecting refugees, the Committee’s task is to weigh evidence of measurable contribution to peace against Alfred Nobel’s century-old mandate.
What the Prize actually does — and what it doesn’t
Winning the Nobel Peace Prize brings global attention, a monetary award, a medal and diploma, and often increased protection and legitimacy for the laureate’s work. It can catalyse funding and open doors for diplomacy. But a prize does not automatically resolve conflicts; nor does it immunise laureates from future criticism. The Nobel Committee can amplify work and shine a spotlight, but long-term peace depends on complex political, social, and economic processes that a medal alone cannot produce.
A small, human aside (not a confession — just perspective)
Think of the process as a slow-cooked investigation rather than a flash award. Nominations arrive from every continent; some are quiet notes from professors, others are formal letters from parliamentarians. The Committee reads, checks, interviews, and then debates late into the season. That deliberate pace is part of the prize’s character — sometimes frustrating to those waiting for quick justice, but important when the subject is something as fragile and complex as peace.
Final thoughts
The Nobel Peace Prize is equal parts legal framework, parliamentary choice, scholarly research, and moral judgement. Its secrecy and deliberation make it opaque in the short term, but they also protect the process from some immediate political noise. Whether you love the Committee’s choices or disagree with them, understanding how the selection is done — the nominators, the short-listing, the advisers’ reports, the five-member Committee appointed by Norway’s Storting, and the 50-year secrecy rule — makes the final announcement less of a mystery and more a moment when a global jury tries, imperfectly, to recognise service to peace.