The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuela’s opposition leader and pro-democracy activist, Maria Corina Machado, in recognition of her unwavering fight for democratic freedoms in her country.
Announcing the decision on Friday in Oslo, the committee’s chair, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, said 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.”
Frydnes described Machado as “a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided” within “a brutal authoritarian state now facing 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 been forced into hiding over the past year due to threats against her life. “Despite serious threats, she has remained in Venezuela — a choice that has inspired millions,” the citation added.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump, who had publicly expressed hopes of winning the Nobel Peace Prize this year, was not among the contenders. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has frequently claimed he “deserves” the award for his role in resolving global conflicts — assertions that Nobel analysts in Oslo dismissed as inconsistent with the Peace Prize’s founding principles outlined in Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will.
Last year’s award went to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese anti-nuclear organization comprising survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize includes a gold medal, a diploma, and a cash award of $1.2 million. The official presentation will take place on December 10 in Oslo — the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.