News that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado handed her medal to U.S. President Donald Trump has triggered a wave of strong reactions and disbelief in Norwegian media and professional circles.
Trump, who has long expressed a desire to receive the award, accepted the medal from the Venezuelan opposition leader during a meeting at the White House.
Machado described the gesture as “a recognition of his extraordinary commitment to our freedom.”
The move has sparked intense debate, particularly given that Machado has been excluded from Venezuela’s power transition process since January 3, when U.S. forces overthrew President Nicolás Maduro, although his regime ultimately remained in power.
The U.S. president, who claims he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize because, according to him, during his second term he has contributed to resolving several conflicts, had previously expressed dissatisfaction with decisions made by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“This is completely unacceptable,” Janne Haaland Matlary, professor at the University of Oslo and former politician, told public broadcaster NRK. “This action shows a total lack of respect for the prize,” she said, describing it as “senseless” and “pathetic.”
Meanwhile, the Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasized last week, through an official statement, that the Nobel Prize cannot be shared or transferred.
The Nobel Peace Prize is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the world for efforts in diplomacy and peace.
“This is extremely shameful and damaging to one of the world’s most well-known and important prizes,” wrote Raymond Johansen, former mayor of Oslo from the ruling Labour Party, in a Facebook post.
“The awarding of the prize has now become so politicized and potentially dangerous that it can easily legitimize developments that run counter to the very idea of peace,” he added.
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896.
