Nobel Institute rules out transfer of Peace Prize after Machado’s remarks

The Norwegian Nobel Institute has made it clear that the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked after it has been awarded, responding to comments by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado about possibly giving her 2025 award to US President Donald Trump.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (REUTERS)

In an official statement, the institute noted that the decision to grant a Nobel Prize is final and permanent under the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, which do not allow appeals, according to a Reuters report.

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What did Machado say on Nobel transfer?

It also said that committees that award the prizes do not comment on what laureates do or say after they receive them.

“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute said. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”

Earlier this week on Fox News, Machado was asked by Sean Hannity whether she had offered to give Trump the Peace Prize. She replied, “Well, it hasn’t happened yet.”

Trump, who has frequently expressed interest in winning the Nobel Peace Prize and has linked it to diplomatic achievements, said he would be honored to accept the prize if Machado offered it during a planned meeting in Washington next week.

Machado, a former member of Venezuela’s National Assembly, was barred from running in that country’s 2024 general election by authorities aligned with President Nicolás Maduro.

She supported a stand-in candidate who many believed won the vote, although Maduro claimed victory amid reported irregularities in the official results.

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