Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually to the person, persons or group that has done the most to promote " fraternity" between nations. Many people and organizations have been honored with the Nobel Peace Prize since it was first awarded in 1901. The Nobel Peace Prize is the only Nobel prize that is awarded from outside Stockholm, Sweden. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize has sometimes been controversial. Not everyone always agrees with the Nobel Peace Prize committee's choice of recipient or who they pass over.

The Nobel Peace Prize was established in the will of Swedish industrialist and inventor, Alfred Noel. Noel was a chemical engineer by training and invented among other things, dynamite. His will layed out the foundation for all the Nobel prizes in the various sciences and the Nobel Peace Prize. It is speculated that he established the Nobel Peace Prize to attone in part for some of his destructive inventions, as the science awards seem to make more sense considering his background.

The nominations to the Nobel Peace Prize committee can be made by any qualified individuals. Individuals deemed qualified to make nominations to the Nobel Peace Prize committee are former recipients, university professors, international figures, and special advisers appointed to the Nobel Peace Prize committee. The Nobel Peace Prize can only be awarded to a living person or organization.

Throughout its long history the Nobel Peace Prize has honored many people and organizations for their work on behalf of promoting peace in the world. Some of the organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize are the Red Cross, the Society of Friends, Unicef and the UN Peace Keepers. Many individuals from all walks of life have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Civil rights leaders, US Presidents, heads of State, religious figures, writers, activists and humanitarians have all been honored.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize has not alwlays been without controversy. Who the Nobel Peace Prize committee chooses to award a Nobel to and who the committee passes over for a Nobel Peace Prize has often been a subject of controversy. People with a violent past have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their current work to promote peace. And people who worked tirelessly for peace their whole lives have been passed over. Gandhi is a notable case in point. He was nominated many times for a Nobel Peace Prize, but was never awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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