The Norwegian Nobel Committee has clarified the status of the Nobel Peace Prize medal following a recent transfer of ownership. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado handed her Nobel medal to US President Donald Trump, who has expressed his intention to keep it.
Medal Ownership and Laureate Recognition
The committee stated that the Nobel Peace Prize itself—the honor and recognition—remains permanently linked to the individual or organization designated as the laureate. However, the physical medal, diploma, and prize money can be freely kept, given away, sold, or donated according to the laureate’s wishes.
“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 in a statement.
Details of the Prize and Recent Transfer
- Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize includes a medal, diploma, and 11 million Swedish crowns (approximately $1.19 million).
- She presented the medal to Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House.
- The White House released a photograph showing Trump holding the medal in a gold-colored frame.
- A White House official confirmed Trump’s intention to retain the medal.
Historical Context
The committee noted that it does not comment on laureates’ actions after the prize is awarded. It also highlighted previous instances where medals have changed hands:
- In 1943, Nobel literature laureate Knut Hamsun gave his medal to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
- In 2022, Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov sold his medal for $100 million to support UNICEF’s aid for Ukrainian refugee children.
- In 2024, Kofi Annan’s widow donated his 2001 Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma to the United Nations office in Geneva.
