The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (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 (UGTT, Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail) * The

Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (, ) or UTICA is an employers' organization in Tunisia representing Industrial sector, industrial, trade and craft sectors. On October 9, 2015, the National Dialogue Quartet, comprising UTICA, the ...

(UTICA, Union Tunisienne de l’Industrie, du Commerce et de l’Artisanat) * The Tunisian Human Rights League (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 (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

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 congresses". Tunisian singer/songwriter Emel Mathlouthibr>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 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. 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 retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

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

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...

, American and Iranian foreign ministers

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

and

Mohammad Javad Zarif Mohammad Javad Zarif (; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He served as the vice president for strategic affairs from August 2024 to March 2025.Iran nuclear deal,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

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 training and a journalist by trade, S ...

and

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...

guerrilla leader Timoleón Jiménez for the peace process in the

Colombian conflict The Colombian conflict () 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 guerrilla groups fighting each other to increase their i ...

, and Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege who treats victims of sexual violence and has been nominated for this before. The Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal, which provides legal assistance ''

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

'' to people subject of arbitrary detentions and their relatives in the country, was also nominated by 36 Chilean deputies, academics and representatives of other parliaments.

Committee

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. For the 2015 award, the members were: * Kaci Kullmann Five (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 (deputy chair, born 1954),

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

(barrister) and president of the Norwegian Bar Association, former state secretary for the Minister of Justice and the Police (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 and former prime minister for the Labour Party, current secretary general of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. Chair of the committee from 2009 to March 2015. * Henrik Syse (born 1966), research professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Member of the committee since 2015.

References

{{2015 Nobel Prize winners

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

October 2015 in Norway

Nominations

Committee

See also

References