The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

(founded in 1961) by the

Norwegian Nobel Committee The Norwegian Nobel Committee () selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will. Five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament. ...

. The announcement was made on Friday 9 October at 11:00 CEST.

Candidates

There were 318 candidates for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize (211 individuals and 107 organizations), which is the fourth largest number in the history of the prize. However, the

does not reveal the names of nominators nor of the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize before 50 years have passed. Full professors in relevant academic fields and national-level politicians in any country may propose candidates, and it does not require an invitation to submit a nomination; sometimes nominators make their proposals public, but the committee does not verify nominations.

Nobel Committee

Tasked with reviewing nominations from September of the previous year through 1 February and ultimately selecting the Prize winners, The Norwegian Parliament-appointed members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee at the time of the 2020 prize were listed as: *

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 a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the 5-member committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize. She is also a ...

(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 The Norwegian Bar Association () is an association of Norwegian lawyers. It was established in 1908 as , and assumed its current name from 1965. As of 2008 the association had about 7,000 members. Among its publications are the journals '' Norsk ...

, former state secretary for the Minister of Justice and the Police (representing the Labour Party). Member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 2012, reappointed for the period 2018–2023. * Henrik Syse (vice chair, born 1966), Research Professor at the

Peace Research Institute Oslo The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO; ) is a private research institution in peace and conflict studies, based in Oslo, Norway, with around 100 employees. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Norwegian researchers led by Johan Galtung, who was ...

. Member of the Committee since 2015, appointed for the period 2015–2020. *

Thorbjørn Jagland Thorbjørn Jagland ( né Johansen; , 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as the secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He served as the prime minister of Norway from 1996 to 1997, a ...

(born 1950), former Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party, former

President of the Storting The Storting ( ; ) 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 based on party-list proportional represe ...

during Jens Stoltenberg's second term; as well as a former 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 Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2009 to 2015. Currently a regular member. Member of the Committee since 2009, reappointed for the period 2015–2020. *

Anne Enger Anne Enger, formerly Anne Enger Lahnstein (born 9 December 1949), is a Norway, Norwegian politician who served as County governor (Norway), County Governor of Østfold from 2004 until 2015, and Leader of the Centre Party (Norway), Centre Party fr ...

(born 1949), former Leader of the Centre Party and

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

. Appointed for the period 2018–2020. *

Asle Toje Asle Toje (born February 16, 1974) is the Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (2018-2029). He is a foreign policy scholar and was Research Director at the Norwegian Nobel Institute from 2009 until he joined the Nobel Peace Prize Commi ...

(born 1974), foreign policy scholar. Appointed for the period 2018–2023.

References

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2020 awards World Food Programme December 2020 in Norway Long stubs with short prose {{Award-stub