Updated: September 11, 2020 8:41:05 am
From left to right: Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. (Photos: AP, Reuters and Wikimedia Commons)
A far-right Norwegian lawmaker said Wednesday that he has nominated United States President Donald Trump for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.
Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Progress Party, cited Trump’s role in the recent landmark agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, saying: “On his merit, I believe (Trump) has tried to create peace between nations more than most other nominees for the peace prize. “
This is the second time that Tybring-Gjedde has sought the award for Trump. In 2018, along with another Norwegian lawmaker, he nominated the American leader for his work to reduce tensions between North and South Korea.
Trump, for his part, has repeatedly expressed his desire to receive the honor of Peace. Earlier this year, credit for the 2019 award was partially credited to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali for the latter’s initiative to resolve Ethiopia’s border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.
Referring to Ali, Trump had said: “I made a deal. I saved a country and I just found out that the head of that country is now receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the country. “
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize is scheduled to be announced on October 9. If Trump wins next year, he would become the fifth president of the United States in history to receive the prestigious award.
A look at the presidents and vice presidents of the United States who have won the Nobel Peace Prize:
Theodore Roosevelt (1906)
Roosevelt, the 26th occupant of the White House (1901-09), was not only the first American president, but also the first statesman in the world to win the honor, five years after the Peace Prize was instituted in 1901 .
Historian, biographer, statesman, hunter, and naturalist, Roosevelt received the award for negotiating peace between Imperial Russia and Japan after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Roosevelt was also praised for his efforts to resolve a dispute between the United States and Mexico through arbitration and for extending the use of arbitration as a means of resolving international disputes.
At home, Roosevelt launched sweeping policies of social and economic reform and earned a reputation as a “trust buster” by breaking up monopolies.
Critics, however, blame Roosevelt for fueling America’s imperial ambitions, such as completing his country’s dominance of the Philippines. He is also known for opposing the efforts of Woodrow Wilson, the country’s 28th president and second statesman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, to make the United States a member of the League of Nations.
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Woodrow Wilson (1919)
Wilson (President of the United States, 1913-21) received the award for his efforts to end World War I and for being the key architect of the League of Nations, born from its famous ‘Fourteen Points’. Although the League faltered within a few years, it served as a model for the United Nations after World War II.
At home, Wilson saw import tariffs lowered, founded the United States central bank and a national business oversight body, and strengthened labor and antitrust laws. In her second term, the United States passed its 19th constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote.
Yet despite his many accomplishments, Wilson held highly racist views, and his administration is blamed for rolling back decades of African-American progress through the use of tactics such as segregating the country’s civil service and demoting or transferring black officials.
In June of this year, after protests against racism swept across the United States, Princeton University removed Wilson’s name from its prestigious School of Public and International Affairs; Join a list of famous organizations in the country that announced efforts to address systemic racism.
Jimmy Carter (2002)
The 39th President received the Peace Prize “for his decades of tireless efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, promote democracy and human rights, and promote economic and social development.”
During his presidency (1977-81), Carter received praise for his role in achieving a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. His final years were more tense, including foreign policy failures such as the conflict with Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, culminating in his re-election to conservative Ronald Reagan in 1980.
After his presidency, Carter pursued peace and mediation efforts independently, and co-founded the Carter Center, a nonprofit organization that works primarily to promote human rights.
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Barack Obama (2009)
The 44th president of the country (2009-2017) received the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation among peoples.” Among Obama’s achievements were his promotion of nuclear non-proliferation and the creation of a “new climate” in international relations.
Obama received the honor less than eight months after he was sworn in, and many, including Obama supporters, criticized the Nobel committee’s decision. Geir Lundestad, a former Nobel secretary, later expressed regret for the selection.
Obama donated all of the prize money – SEK 10 million (about $ 1.4 million) – to charity.
In addition to the four presidents of the United States, a vice president, Al Gore (1993-2001), received the Nobel Peace Prize, who shared the honor in 2007 with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for their joint efforts “to build, promote and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and lay the foundations for the necessary measures to counteract said change ”.
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