Trump believes he is worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Photo Credit: Angela Weiss/Alex Brandon.
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Claim: United States President Donald Trump has criticised Norway for not awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize.
Verdict: False. Careful findings indicate that the Storting (Norway’s parliament) sets up a committee that manages the selection process of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates. After shortlisting the nominees and thorough discussions, the committee then selects the winner through a unanimous decision.
Full Text
Via a tweet re-shared on Jan. 7, 2026, Asian News International (ANI) posted United States President Donald Trump’s criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), including Norway.
Trump, who initially wrote on Truth Social, lambasted NATO for not reciprocating the United States’ economic aid in empowering NATO-member countries from a two percent to a five percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He also took a swipe at Norway for not awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize, despite his efforts to end eight international wars.
“Remember, also, I single-handedly ended 8 wars, and Norway, a NATO member, foolishly chose not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize,” Trump criticised Norway.
As of Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, the post has garnered 41 comments, 42 retweets, 260 likes, and 38 bookmarks.
To clarify who awards the Nobel Peace Prize to a nominee, DUBAWA decided to fact-check Trump’s claim of being denied the award by Norway.
Verification
DUBAWA checked the Nobel Prize website for the criteria involved in choosing a winner of the prestigious award.
The criteria stipulate that a five-member committee appointed by the Storting (Norway’s parliament) awards the Nobel Peace Prize winner. According to the rules set by the Storting, members of the committees are elected for a six-year term and are eligible for re-election. Although it is not a requirement, all committee members have been Norwegian nationals.
Although Alfred Nobel, after whom the prize is named, did not specify why a Norwegian committee was responsible for determining the prize for peace, unlike the other four prizes handled by Swedish committees, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 1901.
Meanwhile, an individual can be nominated by members of national assemblies and national governments, members of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), members of L’Institut de Droit International, and members of the International Board of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Others are university professors, professors emeriti, and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion; university rectors and university directors (or their equivalents); directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes.
Furthermore, previous awardees of the prize, members of the main board of directors of organisations that have received the prize, current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and former advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Committee can also nominate an individual who is qualified for the award.
The committee assesses the candidates’ achievements to determine their eligibility for the award and prepares a shortlist. The shortlisted candidates are then considered by the Nobel Institute’s permanent advisers, who generally consist of a small group of Norwegian university professors with expertise in the field of peace.
Thereafter, the committee begins a thorough discussion of the most likely candidates. At this stage, the committee often obtains more information about the candidates from additional experts, primarily from abroad. The committee then seeks unanimity in the selection of the Nobel Peace Prize, and when this becomes impossible, the selection is decided by a simple majority vote.
Conclusion
Careful findings indicate that the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is determined by a committee established by the Norwegian parliament. After carefully shortlisting the nominees, the committee selects a winner through a unanimous decision. So Trump’s claim that the Norwegian government chose a Nobel Peace Prize winner is false.
