The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader and democracy advocate, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday.
Machado was honoured “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,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Nobel Committee, during the announcement in Oslo.
Frydnes described Machado as “a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided … in a brutal authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis.”
The committee praised her as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times,” noting that she has lived in hiding over the past year.
“Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions,” the statement added.
Machado, a long-standing critic of Venezuela’s government, has faced persecution and restrictions while leading efforts for democratic reform.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who has openly expressed his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize, did not make the shortlist. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly claimed he “deserves” the honour for his role in resolving global conflicts — a claim widely dismissed by Nobel experts, who argue his “America First” policies contradict the prize’s founding ideals.
Last year, the Peace Prize went to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese anti-nuclear group representing survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
This year’s award includes a gold medal, a diploma, and a cash prize of $1.2 million. It will be formally presented on December 10, marking the anniversary of the 1896 death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor and philanthropist who established the prize.
The Peace Prize remains the only Nobel presented in Oslo, while the other disciplines — Literature, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, and Economics — are awarded in Stockholm.
On Thursday, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Laszlo Krasznahorkai, widely regarded as Hungary’s most significant living author, whose works explore themes of postmodern dystopia and melancholy.
The 2025 Nobel season concludes Monday with the announcement of the Economics Prize.
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