Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous work to promote democracy and human rights in Venezuela.
The prize was announced in October by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which praised Machado for her “tireless efforts to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Machado, a former presidential candidate, has faced serious threats and even lived in hiding because of her opposition to President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Despite the dangers, she chose to stay in Venezuela to continue her campaign for freedom. “This is something the Venezuelan people deserve,” she said after hearing the news. “I’m humbled and grateful to be part of what’s going on in Venezuela today.”
Not everyone was pleased with the decision. US President Donald Trump, who has long hoped to win the Nobel Peace Prize himself, was passed over again this year. Trump congratulated Machado in a phone call, but his team criticised the Nobel Committee, saying it had “put politics over peace.” Trump had been nominated for helping to arrange peace agreements in the Middle East but missed the deadline for this year’s nominations.
The Nobel Peace Prize, first awarded in 1901, is one of six Nobel Prizes created by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor who also created dynamite. Nobel wanted his fortune to reward those who had “done the greatest good for humanity.” The prizes are awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences.
Each Nobel Prize winner, called a laureate, receives a gold medal, a certificate, and a cash prize at a special ceremony on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
Every year, thousands of experts, past winners, and academics from around the world are invited to nominate candidates for the prizes. These nominations must be submitted by 31 January, and the details are kept secret for 50 years. Winners are chosen only after long and careful consideration, following Alfred Nobel’s wish to honour those who make the world a better place.
