So, is Trump expected to win? And if not him, then who?
Is Trump expected to win?
However, despite Trump’s regular claims of having ended seven wars, experts don’t think he’s likely to take home this year’s medal.
US President Donald Trump has long expressed a desire to join the ranks of previous Nobel prize winners such as Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai and Barack Obama. Source: AP / Adrian Wyld / Scott A Garfitt / John McConnico / Jon Eeg
Swedish professor Peter Wallensteen, an expert on international affairs, told Agence France-Presse that Trump won’t take home the prize this year, but perhaps in 2026, when “the dust will have settled around his various initiatives, including the Gaza crisis”.
Numerous experts consider Trump’s “peacemaker” claims to be exaggerated and express concerns over the consequences of his “America First” policies.
“The whole organisation or the complete personality of that person matters, but what we first and foremost look at is what they have been actually achieving for the sake of peace,” he said.
Who are the top picks for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize?
In 2024, the award went to Japan’s atomic bomb survivors’ group Nihon Hidankyo for its efforts to ban nuclear weapons.
It could also give the nod to international tribunals such as the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court, or champion press freedoms currently under attack by giving it to the Committee to Protect Journalists or Reporters Without Borders.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
Nobel spent much of his career developing weapons technologies and made a fortune from it, but later in life became a close friend of Austrian peace activist Bertha von Suttner.
Bertha von Suttner went on to become the first woman to win the peace prize in 1905, and many believe it was her influence that made Nobel include an award for that category. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The menu, meticulously planned for months by some of Sweden’s best chefs and sommeliers, is kept a secret until the food is served by 200 waiters.
Who awards the Nobel prizes?
The prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, according to the same principles as the other prizes.
The most famous and infamous Nobel laureates
While most achievements are still celebrated, some awards have not aged well, such as Egas Moniz’s 1949 prize in physiology or medicine for the since-discredited practice of lobotomy.
Former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 after the signing of the Oslo Accords. Source: AP / Ron Edmonds
Many peace prizes have also been criticised, including those for Henry Kissinger, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
