The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader and pro-democracy activist Maria Corina Machado, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday.
Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said Machado was recognised “for her relentless efforts to promote democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and her struggle for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Frydnes praised Machado as a “unifying voice in a once-divided opposition” who has shown exceptional courage while facing threats in an increasingly repressive political climate.
The committee described her as “one of the most remarkable examples of civilian bravery in modern Latin America.”
Despite living under constant threats, Machado has refused to leave Venezuela a decision that, according to the committee, has “inspired millions striving for freedom and justice.”
Meanwhile, reports noted that US President Donald Trump, who has previously expressed his desire to win the Peace Prize, was not considered a viable contender this year.
Experts in Oslo emphasized that his “America First” approach contradicts the principles outlined in Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will, which established the award.
Last year’s Nobel Peace Prize went to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese grassroots movement representing atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Nobel Peace Prize includes a gold medal, a diploma, and a cash award of $1.2 million.
The award will be presented at a formal ceremony in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of the prizes’ creator, Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel.
The Peace Prize is the only Nobel awarded in Oslo, with the other disciplines announced in Stockholm.
On Thursday, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Laszlo Krasznahorkai, considered by many as Hungary’s most important living author, whose works explore themes of postmodern dystopia and melancholy.
The 2025 Nobel season winds up Monday with the economics prize.
