Nobel Peace Prize: 376 nominations - a record number

(Baonghean.vn) - Many familiar names have been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, including Pope Francis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Donald Trump, a strong candidate for the US presidency.

This year's Nobel Peace Prize received a record 376 nominations, including names as diverse as Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, and Pope Francis; while the number in 2004 was only 278.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is among 376 individuals and organizations nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The head of the Nobel Institute, Olav Njolstad, said the record number reflected world events over the past year. “We are living in a world of many contradictions and of significant positive developments. This has clearly inspired many people to exercise their right to nominate someone,” he said. A total of 228 individuals and 148 organizations were nominated, the institute said.

However, the names on the list for at least the past 50 years will always remain a secret, unless their nominators - be they parliamentarians, ministers, past laureates or university professors - decide to reveal the list to the public.

Therefore, after being announced, some names that made it to this year's list are said to include strong candidate for the new US President Donald Trump; Colombian peace negotiator Pope Francis; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; residents of Greek islands with actions to help immigrants and American actress and social activist Susan Sarandon.

The list also includes Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege; Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman from Iraq who was kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by IS militants in August 2014; and the women of the Afghan Cycling Federation, nominated by a group of Italian parliamentarians who praised the bicycle as an environmentally friendly, economical and democratic means of transport.

Tasked with choosing the winner of the prize, the five-member Nobel Assembly held its first meeting on Monday, during which members submitted their own nominations.

One or more names (maximum 3) for the winning position will be announced on October 7th.

Last year, the prize was awarded to four Tunisian groups - for saving their country from the transition to democracy.

Linh Nguyen

(According to the Guardian)