How does the Nobel Peace Prize work? - Adeline Cuvelier and Toril Rokseth

What do a 17-year-old Pakistani,

a Norwegian explorer,

a Tibetan monk,

and an American pastor have in common?

They were all awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Among the top prestigious awards in the world,

this prize has honored some of the most celebrated

and revered international figures and organizations in history.

To understand how it all got started, we have to go back to the 1800s.

Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel

was then mostly known for the invention of dynamite,

a breakthrough which launched his career as a successful inventor

and businessman.

30 years later, he had become extremely wealthy,

but never married,

and had no children.

When his will was opened after his death,

it came as a surprise that his fortune was to be used for five prizes

in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace.

These prizes illustrated his lifelong commitment to sciences

and his passion for literature.

But what about peace?

Because Nobel's name was tied to inventions used in the war industry,

many have assumed that he created the peace prize out of regret.

However, this is all speculation as he never expressed any such sentiments,

and his inventions were also used for constructive purposes.

Instead, many historians connect Alfred Nobel's interest for the peace cause

to his decade-long friendship and correspondence

with an Austrian pacifist named Bertha Von Suttner.

Von Suttner was one of the leaders of the international peace movement,

and in 1905, after Nobel's death,

she became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nobel's will outlined three criteria for the Peace Prize,

which unlike the other Sweden-based prizes,

would be administered in Norway.

Disarmament, peace congresses, and brotherhood between nations.

These standards have since been expanded

to include other ways of promoting peace,

such as human rights and negotiations.