Nobel Peace Prize 2013: Record of 259 candidates

March 5, 2013
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A record 259 candidates, including 209 individuals and 50 organizations, are on the list for the Nobel Peace Prize, which will be allocated next October in Oslo, said Monday the Nobel Institute.

“The trend is upwards, not every year but almost,” Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad said.

“This reflects a growing interest in the prize. Nominations come from the whole world,” he said. The previous record dates back to 2011, the year in which there were 241 nominations. The committee keeps secret the list for fifty years, but sponsors may publicly disclose the names of the candidates.

Among the known candidates this year include: the teenage Pakistani Malala, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, for the peace talks that his government has with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to end more than five decades of conflict, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Burmese President Thein Sein reformist and European activists of human rights, such as the Russian NGO Memorial.

Parliamentarians and ministers of all countries, some academics, former winners and members of certain international organizations and the Nobel committee, ie thousands of people, are entitled to submit an application.

The Nobel committee’s choice will be announced in early October, and the award will be presented on December 10, the death anniversary of the prize founder, the Swedish entrepreneur and philanthropist Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). In 2012, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union.