Nobel Peace Prize to be Announced on Friday and Trump's 'Ghost' Looms Over It

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The Nobel Committee, which will announce the name or names of the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, is aware that its choice will be subject to scrutiny, especially from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has dreamed for a long time since returning to the White House in 2025 of winning it.

This year, 287 individuals and organizations were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and the names of the nominees remain confidential for 50 years.

Experts believe that Trump's "ghost" will loom over the announcement of the winner's name on Friday in Oslo.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his disappointment at not winning the Nobel Peace Prize so far, despite waging a war against Iran and expressing ambitions that sometimes came at the expense of allies, as in the case of Greenland, as well as his attacks on international cooperation institutions and the media.

Trump did not publicly seek to pressure for the award this time, but there is a possibility that the committee's choice, whatever it may be, will be interpreted as a direct or indirect criticism of the American president.

Håkon Wium Lie, director of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO), says that Trump is the "ghost present in the room."

He added that the Nobel Committee must ask itself, "Is there a possibility that granting this award could cause harm instead of achieving good?" in light of the potential reactions from the White House.

However, the Nobel Institute confirms that it does not feel concerned.

Committee Secretary Christian Berg Harpviken told AFP, "There is always a lot of pressure, and in the end, there may also be attempts to exert pressure on the committee. So, we are quite used to that to some extent."

He added, "This does not mean that we are not discussing the matter. Of course, we have to discuss it, but this does not affect the discussions in the room and the decisions that come out of it."

Last year, the prestigious award was given to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, in a choice that was generally considered acceptable to Trump.

Machado presented her gold medal to Donald Trump, considering that he deserved it after the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro, but she did not succeed in obtaining his political support in return.

This year, the committee intends to choose a winner who enjoys broad consensus, such as a person or organization working in the field of child protection or humanitarian aid.

Among the potential names is the organization "Save the Children," and Mykola Kulyba, the Ukrainian children's rights activist who is leading a campaign to return children who were illegally transferred to Russia from occupied Ukrainian territories, a cause that Trump's wife Melania is particularly interested in.

The "Emergency Response Rooms" in Sudan, a vast network of volunteers who risk their lives to help the population face war and hunger, may also be among the potential candidates.

Among the possible options that may provoke Trump's displeasure are the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, Pope Leo XIV, highlighting press freedom by awarding the prize to the Committee to Protect Journalists, or focusing on international justice by choosing bodies like the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice.

Nobel Prize historian Asle Sven says, "We live in an era of predators. We have Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu."

He adds, "They do not want an international system. They want great powers, each with its own sphere of influence. The International Criminal Court stands in their way."

At the same time, peace remains elusive in many parts of the world, as 65 armed conflicts involving at least one state were recorded during 2025, the highest number since 1946, according to the Oslo Peace Research Institute.

Harpfiken says, "On a general level, it is clear that the world is not heading in the right direction."

However, he adds, "At the same time (...), there is no shortage of good initiatives. There is no shortage of organizations or individuals doing good work," adding, "The peace prize may be more important than ever."