The Nobel Foundation and the Norwegian Nobel Committee have issued formal clarifications reaffirming that the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be shared, transferred or revoked, following public attention generated by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s decision to present her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump.
Machado handed the physical gold medal to Trump during a White House meeting on Thursday, describing the gesture as a symbolic recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people. A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal.
In a social media post later that day, Trump described the gesture as “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect” and wrote: “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!”
A photograph released by the White House showed Trump holding the framed medal, which carried an inscription reading: “To President Donald J. Trump In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength, Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People.”
Machado said the meeting was “excellent” and explained that the medal was meant as a symbolic expression of appreciation for Trump’s support for Venezuelan freedom.
The meeting marked the first in person encounter between the two and came weeks after US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and charged him in a drug trafficking case, a development that has reshaped Venezuela’s political landscape.
The unusual transfer of the physical medal prompted the Nobel Foundation to reiterate long standing rules governing Nobel Prizes.
In a statement posted on X, the Foundation said one of its core missions is to
“safeguard the dignity of the Nobel Prizes and their administration”, stressing that Alfred Nobel’s will clearly defines how prizes are awarded.
“It states that the prizes shall be awarded to those who ‘have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind,’ and it specifies who has the right to award each respective prize,” the Foundation said. “A prize can therefore not, even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed.”
The Foundation referred further questions to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which also released a detailed statement clarifying that while medals and diplomas can change ownership, the Peace Prize itself remains permanently attached to the original laureate.
“Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize,” the committee said. “Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
The committee added that “a laureate cannot share the prize with others, nor transfer it once it has been announced. A Nobel Peace Prize can also never be revoked. The decision is final and applies for all time.”
It also stressed that there are no restrictions on what laureates may do with their medals, diplomas or prize money, noting that items have previously been donated, sold, gifted or placed in museums.
Examples cited included former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, whose widow donated his medal and diploma to the United Nations Office in Geneva, and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, who sold his medal for USD 103.5 million in 2022 and donated the proceeds to UNICEF to support Ukrainian refugee children.
Addressing broader debate, the committee said it does not comment on laureates’ later political actions, stating: “The Norwegian Nobel Committee does not see it as their role to engage in day to day commentary on Peace Prize laureates or the political processes that they are engaged in.”
While Trump had previously expressed interest in winning the Nobel Peace Prize and complained about being passed over, Nobel officials emphasised that Machado remains the sole and permanent Nobel Peace Prize laureate, regardless of who now holds the physical medal.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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