WHO DECIDES?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which consists of five individuals appointed by the Norwegian parliament. Members are often retired politicians, but not always.
The current committee is led by the head of the Norwegian branch of PEN International, a group defending freedom of expression. Another member is an academic.
HOW DOES THE COMMITTEE DECIDE?
Nominations close on Jan 31. Members of the committee can make their own nominations no later than their first meeting in February.
They discuss all the nominations, then establish a shortlist. Each nominee is then assessed and examined by a group of permanent advisers and other experts.
The committee meets roughly once a month to discuss the nominations. The decision tends to be taken in August or in September, said Harpviken.
The committee seeks to reach a consensus on its selection. If it cannot, the decision is made by majority vote.
The last time a member quit in protest was in 1994, when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shared the prize with Israel’s Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin.
WHO AWARDS THE NOBEL PRIZES?
Nobel selected the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to award the prizes for chemistry and physics, the Swedish Academy for literature, Sweden’s Karolinska Institute medical university for physiology or medicine, and the Norwegian parliament for peace.
It is not known exactly why Nobel chose Norway to hand out the peace prize, though it could reflect that Norway and Sweden were linked in a political union at the time he penned his will.
In 1968, when Sweden’s central bank was celebrating its 300th anniversary, it established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel with a donation to the Nobel Foundation.
The prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, according to the same principles as the other prizes.
FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS LAUREATES
Notable Nobel laureates include scientists Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Marie Curie, authors Ernest Hemingway and Albert Camus, and inspirational leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr and Mother Teresa.
While most achievements are still celebrated, some awards have not aged well, such as Egas Moniz’s 1949 prize in physiology or medicine for the since-discredited practice of lobotomy.
Many peace prizes have also been criticised, including those for Henry Kissinger, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. Failure to give the prize to Mahatma Gandhi before his death in 1948 is also seen by many as a great oversight.
THE FESTIVITIES
The Nobel prizes are presented to the laureates on Dec 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.
The peace prize is handed out by the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, while the other prizes are presented by the Swedish king in Stockholm Concert Hall.
Source: CNA
