The Nobel Peace Prize announcement is just around the corner, and US President Donald Trump has been vocal about why he believes he deserves it. On Thursday, the White House shared an image of him with the caption, “The Peace President,” a clear nod to his ongoing campaign for the world’s most prestigious peace honour.
Trump has often claimed credit for “brokering seven peace deals,” including one between India and Pakistan -- a claim New Delhi has firmly denied. He also suggested that the Nobel Committee will “find a reason” not to award him the prize. Throughout his presidency, Trump has been nominated multiple times. This year’s nominations reportedly came from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cambodia’s Hun Manet, lawmakers from the United States, and Pakistan’s government.
To date, only four American presidents and one vice president have received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Theodore Roosevelt was the first, in 1906. He was recognised for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War through the Treaty of Portsmouth. Roosevelt’s medal still hangs in the Roosevelt Room of the White House’s West Wing.
In 1919, Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, was awarded the prize for his efforts to end World War I and for founding the League of Nations -- the first international organisation created to promote lasting peace.
Jimmy Carter joined the list in 2002, 21 years after leaving office. The Nobel Committee honoured him “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”
Barack Obama became the fourth American president to win the prize in 2009, less than a year into his presidency. He was recognised for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” including his advocacy for nuclear disarmament and climate action.
Although not a president, former Vice President Al Gore shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change.”
As Trump presses his case, history shows that only a handful of American leaders have ever received the Nobel Peace Prize -- each for notable contributions to diplomacy, conflict resolution, or the advancement of global peace.
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