The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the

Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (Arabic: الرباعي التونسي للحوار الوطني‎, French: ''Quartet du dialogue national'') is a group of four civil society organizations that were central mediators in the effort to conso ...

(founded in 2013) for "its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011". The National Dialogue Quartet was formed in 2013 and comprises four organizations in Tunisian civil society: * The

Tunisian General Labour Union The Tunisian General Labour Union (french: Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail, ''UGTT''. ar, الاتحاد العام التونسي للشغل) is a national trade union center in Tunisia. It has a membership of more than one million and w ...

(UGTT, Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail) * The Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA, Union Tunisienne de l’Industrie, du Commerce et de l’Artisanat) * The

Tunisian Human Rights League french: Ligue tunisienne des droits de l'homme , native_name_lang = , named_after = , image = Tunisian Human Rights League logo.png , image_size = , alt = Logo of the Tunisian Human Rights Le ...

(LTDH, La Ligue Tunisienne pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme) * The Tunisian Order of Lawyers (Ordre National des Avocats de Tunisie). The

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

is awarded annually to those who 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 congress A peace congress, in international relations, has at times been defined in a way that would distinguish it from a peace conference (usually defined as a diplomatic meeting to decide on a peace treaty), as an ambitious forum to carry out dispute ...

es". Tunisian singer/songwriter

Emel Mathlouthi Emel Mathlouthi ( ar, آمال المثلوثي) also known as Emel, born 11 January 1982), is a Tunisian singer-songwriter, musician, arranger and producer. She rose to fame with her protest song " Kelmti Horra" ("My Word is Free"), which became ...

br>sang Kelmti Horra during the award ceremony
at City Hall in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2015.

Nominations

The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 273 different nominations for the Peace Prize. 68 of these nominations were for organizations and 205 for persons. It is the second highest number of candidates as of 2015, after 278 in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Many news media speculated about who would be awarded. The award was a surprise to many. Media favourites included German Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

for admitting large numbers of refugees and migrants to Germany in the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...

, American and Iranian foreign ministers

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

and

Mohammad Javad Zarif Mohammad Javad Zarif Khansari ( fa, محمدجواد ظریف خوانساری, Mohammad-Javād Zarīf Khānsāri ; ; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in th ...

for the

Iran nuclear deal The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; fa, برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک , barnāmeye jāme'e eqdāme moshtarak (, ''BARJAM'')), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

for his assistance in the United States–Cuban Thaw, Colombian President

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade ...

and

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

guerrilla leader

Timoleón Jiménez Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri (born 22 January 1959), most known under the ''nom de guerre'' Timoleón Jiménez and the nickname Timochenko or Timochenco, is a Colombian politician, cardiologist and former guerrilla. He is best known as the former ...

for the peace process in the

Colombian conflict The Colombian conflict ( es, link=no, Conflicto armado interno de Colombia) began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left gue ...

, and Congolese gynecologist

Denis Mukwege Denis Mukwege (; born 1 March 1955) is a Congolese gynecologist and Pentecostal pastor. He founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018, Mukwege and I ...

who treats victims of sexual violence and has been nominated for this before.

Committee

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. For the 2015 award, the members were: *

Kaci Kullmann Five Karin Cecilie "Kaci" Kullmann Five (; 13 April 1951 – 19 February 2017) was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1981 to 1997, as Minister of Trade and Shipping in the Ministry of F ...

(chair since March 2015, born 1951), former member of Parliament and cabinet minister for the Conservative Party. Member of the committee since 2003. *

Berit Reiss-Andersen Berit Reiss-Andersen (born 11 July 1954) is a Norwegian lawyer, author and former politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. She is chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the 5-member committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize. She is also a ...

(deputy chair, born 1954), advocate (barrister) and president of the Norwegian Bar Association, former state secretary for the

Minister of Justice and the Police In Norway, the Minister of Justice and Public Security is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. The current Justice Minister is Emilie Enger Mehl. Until 1 January 2012 the post w ...

(representing the Labour Party). Member of the Committee since 2011. * Inger-Marie Ytterhorn (1941–2021), member of Parliament for the Progress Party. Member of the committee since 2000. * Thorbjørn Jagland (born 1950), former Member of Parliament and

President of the Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

and former prime minister for the Labour Party, current secretary general of the Council of Europe. Chair of the committee from 2009 to March 2015. *

Henrik Syse Henrik Syse (born 19 April 1966) is a Norwegian philosopher, author, and lecturer. He is a Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and a part-time Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Bjørknes College in Oslo. He ...

(born 1966), research professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Member of the committee since 2015.

References

{{2015 Nobel Prize winners

2015 October 2015 events in Europe

Nominations

Committee

See also

References