Prize cannot be passed on, even symbolically: Nobel Foundation reiterates

The Nobel Foundation has reiterated that a Nobel Prize cannot be passed on or further distributed, even symbolically, as safeguarding the dignity of the Nobel Prizes remains one of its core missions.

In a Facebook post, the Foundation said it strictly upholds the will of Alfred Nobel and its stipulations, which state that the prizes shall be awarded to those who “have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”

It noted that Alfred Nobel’s will clearly specifies which institutions have the authority to award each respective prize, leaving no room for reinterpretation or symbolic transfer of the honour.

The Foundation emphasised that the administration of the Nobel Prizes must adhere fully to Nobel’s original intent, underscoring its commitment to preserving the integrity and credibility of the prestigious awards.

The clarification follows remarks by self-exiled Venezuelan opposition leader and last year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday (15 January) and “presented” her Nobel medal to him.

On Friday (16 January), the Nobel Committee’s statement from Oslo said: “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.”

“Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,” it added.

However, the committee said it would make no comment “on Peace Prize laureates or the political processes that they are engaged in”.