Nobel Peace Prize 2025 Live Updates: Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado gets the peace award

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

Machado became the 20th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the 112 individuals who have been honoured.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuela's opposition leader and democracy activist Maria Corina Machado, in a move that is likely to send ripples to the White House. READ MORE

Three sitting US presidents have won the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Woodrow Wilson in 1919 and Barack Obama in 2009. Jimmy Carter won the prize in 2002, a full two decades after leaving office. Former Vice President Al Gore received the prize in 2007.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote democratic rights and push for a peaceful transition in Venezuela, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday.

The Nobel Peace Prize, valued at 11 million Swedish crowns (~$1.2 million), will be presented in Oslo on December 10, marking the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Venezuela’s main opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, effectively ending US President Donald Trump's chances.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that she received the award for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights” for the people in her country. READ MORE

“She is a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided — an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government,” said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.

“In the past year, Miss Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist," he added.

The former opposition presidential candidate in Venezuela, Machado, is a democratic rights activist. She was lauded for being a “key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.

Maria Corina Machado won "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its citation.

Nobel Peace Prize 2025 Live Updates: The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday decided to award the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Corina Machado for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

Experts around the world believe that Donald Trump’s chances of winning a Nobel Peace Prize this year remain slim despite his public claims.

Experts point to Trump’s polarising policies, controversial rhetoric and actions that appear to contradict the ideals traditionally honoured by the Nobel Committee.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he ended eight wars worldwide, including the recently brokered Israel-Gaza peace deal.

These include:

• Israel and Iran
• The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda
• Cambodia and Thailand
• India and Pakistan
• Serbia and Kosovo
• Egypt and Ethiopia
• Azerbaijan and Armenia
• Israel-Hamas conflict

Notably, India has consistently denied any US involvement and maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.

US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim of "stopping" many conflicts through trade and tariffs, but said he "doesn't know" if he'll get the Nobel Peace Prize for settling “eight wars.”

"Well, I don't know," said the US President, asserting that he made eight deals and solved wars, and would also "probably" solve the Russia-Ukraine war. "I think we'll do that too. And I think they'll be coming to the table pretty soon."

Nobel Peace Prize 2025 Live Updates: The winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday, in a year overshadowed by a months-long campaign by US President Donald Trump to win what is arguably the world's most prestigious award.

Trump has been outspoken about his desire for a prize that has been won by four of his predecessors. For the recognition, he repeatedly claimed that he has ended seven wars worldwide, including Israel and Iran; the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda; Cambodia and Thailand; India and Pakistan; Serbia and Kosovo; Egypt and Ethiopia; Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Trump announced that a ceasefire and hostage deal had been secured between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Wednesday, under the first phase of his initiative to end the war in Gaza.

The youngest laureate to win the Nobel Peace Prize is Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, who was awarded at the age of 17 in 2014. The oldest to win is Joseph Rotblat, who won at the age of 86 in 1995 for his work against nuclear weapons.

While US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire for a Nobel Prize, it is most unlikely that he will be the committe's choice for the winner. “No, it will not be Trump this year,” Peter Wallensteen, a Swedish professor and expert on international affairs, said in an interview with AFP.

A total of 338 individuals and organisations have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. The prize had gone to Nihon Hidankyo, the association of Japan’s atomic bomb survivors, for its work to eliminate nuclear weapons, in 2024.

The front-runners for the prize include

• Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a network of volunteers assisting civilians amid war and famine.
• Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny
• The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, known for its election monitoring.

Alfred Nobel, a 19th century businessman, inventor and chemist decided to use his vast fortune toward the end of his life to fund annual prizes for “those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”

Nobel, who hailed from Sweden, held more than 300 patents to his name, according to Al Jazeera. He was best known for inventing dynamiteby mixing nitroglycerine with a compound that made the explosive more stable.

In his will, Nobel dedicated one part to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

According to insiders, the lead-up to the announcement of the award includes a long and deliberative process, with discussions on candidates' strengths and weaknesses taking place.

The deadline for nominations for the prize is January 31. Committee members can also nominate candidates, but they have to do so by the committee's first meeting in February, Reuters reported. Following this meeting, the committee meets once a month, with the decision usually reached upon by August or September. The decision was taken later than usual this year.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has clarified that any potential Israel-Gaza peace agreement will not influence the 2025 Peace Prize selection, as the decision was finalised earlier this week only.

Despite this, US President Donald Trump continues to lobby and make public claims about resolving multiple conflicts.

Russia has said repeatedly that it is grateful for US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks published on Thursday that Kyiv would nominate Trump for the Nobel, which he openly covets, if he managed to bring about a ceasefire.

Russia would back US President Donald Trump's candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize, state news agency TASS quoted Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as saying on Friday.

The winner of the 2025 prize will be announced at 0900 GMT, but experienced watchers of the award say it is highly unlikely to be Trump.

The announcement for the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 is due just hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal that could help end the over two-year war in Gaza.

But while Trump's pressure on the two sides has been seen as instrumental for the breakthrough, the deal has probably come too late for the Nobel Committee to take it into account.

Nominations for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize closed on January 31, shortly after Trump’s return to the White House. However, President Barack Obama famously got the prize in 2009, just months into the start of his presidency.

As the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 announcement approaches, all eyes are on the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee responsible for selecting the laureate.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee consists of five members: human rights advocate Jørgen Watne Frydnes, foreign policy scholar Asle Toje, former Acting Prime Minister Anne Enger, former Minister of Education Kristin Clemet, and former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Gry Larsen.

Last year's award went to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors who have worked for decades to maintain a taboo around the use of nuclear weapons.

Since returning to the White House for his second term in January, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that he "deserves" the Nobel for his role in resolving numerous conflicts -- a claim experts say is broadly exaggerated.