Why is Norway the only country that awards the Nobel Peace Prize?
Per Alfred Nobel's will, the prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and economic sciences are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, but the Peace Prize alone is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee and awarded separately each year on December 10 — the anniversary of Nobel's death — at Oslo City Hall. The precise reason Nobel entrusted only the Peace Prize to Norway is not known, but the leading theory is that the Norwegian parliament (the Storting) of the time was particularly active in peace mediation efforts.
The youngest laureate ever: Malala Yousafzai
In 2014, Pakistani women's education activist Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17, setting the record for the youngest laureate ever. She won for continuing her activism for girls' right to education even after surviving a Taliban shooting, sharing the prize with Indian children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
The only organization to win three times: the International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has won the Nobel Peace Prize three times — in 1917, 1944, and 1963 (the latter jointly with the League of Red Cross Societies, to mark the centennial of the founding of the International Red Cross Movement) — remaining the most-honored organization in the prize's history. Both of the first two awards recognized its humanitarian work protecting prisoners of war and civilians during the World Wars.
A prize that can go to organizations, not just individuals
Unlike other Nobel Prize categories, the Peace Prize is awarded not only to individuals but also to international organizations and groups. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has won twice, in 1954 and 1981; the European Union (EU) won in 2012; Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) won in 1999; and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) won jointly with Al Gore in 2007.
South Korea's first and only laureate: Kim Dae-jung
In 2000, former President Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to the Sunshine Policy aimed at improving inter-Korean relations, as well as to South Korea's democratization and advancement of human rights. It remains the only Nobel Peace Prize ever awarded to a South Korean, and it drew significant attention as it came just after the first-ever inter-Korean summit was held that same year.
Controversial selections
When Henry Kissinger shared the 1973 prize with Lê Đức Thọ for negotiating the Vietnam peace accords, the controversy was so intense that two members of the Nobel Committee resigned in protest. In 2009, Barack Obama won the award less than a year into his presidency, drawing criticism that it was "a prize for expectations rather than accomplishments." The Nobel Committee has maintained a principle of never rescinding a prize once it has been awarded, so even a later-controversial laureate's award itself is never revoked.
There have been years with no laureate at all
The Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded in several years — mostly during World War I and World War II — designated as "no award" years. Under Nobel Foundation rules, prize money for a year with no laureate is either carried over into the foundation's fund or set aside in a special fund.
The ceremony is held at Oslo City Hall
Unlike the other five categories, whose ceremony is held at the Stockholm Concert Hall, the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held separately every year on December 10 at Oslo City Hall in Norway. It is customary for the King of Norway to attend, and the laureate delivers their Nobel lecture on this occasion.