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Committee on Handover of Nobel Peace Prize from Machado to Trump: The award always belongs to the official winner

Published January 16, 2026, 19:15
Committee on Handover of Nobel Peace Prize from Machado to Trump: The award always belongs to the official winner

The Norwegian Nobel Committee issued a statement regarding the handover of the Nobel Peace Prize medal from last year's winner, Maria Corina Machado, to Donald Trump. The committee clarifies that the award remains inextricably linked to the official winner, regardless of the fate of the medal, diploma, or monetary prize. Machado handed over the medal to Trump, who thanked her for it. This move sparked discussions about the political dimension of the award and the dignity of the winners. The committee emphasizes that there are no restrictions in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation regarding what a laureate can do with the medal, diploma, or monetary prize. A laureate is free to keep, give away, sell, or donate these items. However, the committee stresses that the original winner is and remains the one recorded in history as the recipient of the award.