10 Controversial Nobel Peace Prize Winners and 10 Who Deserved It

Negotiating a ceasefire was an impressive achievement for the Secretary of State in 1973, but the Vietnam War was not truly over when he secured that victory. Furthermore, Kissinger was secretly conducting attacks on Cambodia as part of his duties. Today, he is a highly controversial and unpopular figure.

You may recall the collective gasp of surprise that rang out when the 44th president won the award just nine months after taking office, long before most of his policies had even been implemented. The committee stated that it wanted to encourage his future efforts, but critics argued that rewarding “potential” was a bit like awarding a gold medal before the race had even begun.

Paying tribute to the leader of the Palestinian PLO might have seemed logical in 1994 in the context of the peace process, but Arafat was not really a pacifist before that. To many, awarding him this prize seemed pointless, given that he had long encouraged violence rather than defusing it.

Suu Kyi’s decades of peaceful protests earned her worldwide admiration while she was under house arrest by the Burmese government. But fast-forward to her time in office as the country’s leader, and things did not go so well. Because she remained silent when the violence against the Rohingya began, her award will forever be remembered for reasons she certainly did not anticipate.

The Ethiopian prime minister seemed like an obvious choice for 2019: he literally ended a 20-year war with neighboring Eritrea. Then he decided to start a new conflict in Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia. What began as a civil war turned into a major international crisis because of him.

In 1928, it seemed like a wonderful idea: what if countries could sign a treaty banning war? The Kellogg-Briand Pact was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because no one wanted a third world war, but there was no way to enforce it. In hindsight, it is almost ironic that the Nobel Committee awarded the prize to an agreement that had absolutely no power.

Known as the “Father of the United Nations,” Hull helped establish the international organization we know today, but his legacy is not viewed very favorably. As Secretary of State, Hull played a role in denying asylum to a ship carrying refugees fleeing Germany, sending them back out to sea. Many of those passengers ultimately died as a result of his decision.

The reason Satō won the election makes perfect sense: he promised that Japan would not build nuclear weapons on its soil. The problem? He asked the United States to provide a nuclear umbrella for Japan if war broke out with Russia. While everyone appreciated Satō’s public efforts toward peace, few people were aware of his secret negotiations with the United States.

Menchú won the prize in 1992 after publishing her autobiography, which detailed the struggles of Guatemala’s indigenous peoples, propelling her to the status of a global symbol of social justice. Years later, an anthropologist discovered that several of the most dramatic accounts in her book were either exaggerated or entirely fabricated. Although her cause was entirely legitimate, the fact that her prize was awarded on the basis of a partially fictional account nevertheless leaves a bitter aftertaste.

While her environmental work in Kenya was truly innovative and worthy of respect, she did, however, make some highly controversial public statements that put the Nobel Committee in an awkward position. In particular, she suggested that HIV was a biological weapon created by scientists to eliminate certain populations. Her win showed that being a great activist does not always mean being a great advocate for scientific truth.

Now that we’ve discussed 10 people who didn’t deserve this prize, here are 10 people who did.

Dr. King was chosen to receive this award while he was actively leading a nonviolent civil rights movement in the United States. He advocated for equality, participated in protest marches, and was often imprisoned or physically assaulted by his opponents, yet he never responded with violence. The committee responsible for awarding the prize wanted the world to know that King’s peaceful struggle was recognized and appreciated by people outside the United States.

One of the world’s longest-serving prisoners could have, quite rightly, returned to society with the firm intention of taking revenge on the system that had imprisoned him. Instead, Mandela chose to campaign for the abolition of apartheid while advocating for peace and forgiveness in South Africa, rather than violence and retaliation. He shook hands with the man who had imprisoned him and became a champion of peace throughout the world.

Becoming the youngest recipient of this award is no small feat. Even after being targeted and hospitalized simply for wanting to go to school, she refused to be silenced and became a global advocate for girls’ education. Her courage reminds us that you don’t need a political title or decades of experience to have a significant impact on the world.

Desmond Tutu was regarded by many as the conscience of South Africa. He advocated for nonviolence and racial integration with an optimistic and religious approach. Archbishop Tutu was known for his ability to unite people and promote racial change in South Africa during apartheid.

Even though she had a few modern-day critics, there’s no denying that she spent her entire life working with people whom the rest of the world had completely abandoned. From the slums of Calcutta to hospitals around the world, she brought comfort and care to “the poorest of the poor” without asking for anything in return. She even asked the committee to cancel her expensive celebratory dinner so that the money could be used to feed the hungry.

Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor who made it his mission to ensure that such situations would never happen again. As a Holocaust survivor and historian, Wiesel used his platform to teach future generations that turning a blind eye to human suffering is no different from those who cause it.

This committee has won three Nobel Peace Prizes. As if that weren’t enough, it continues to work around the world, visiting political prisoners and providing assistance in the most dangerous situations. The Red Cross answered the call when there was absolutely no one else to turn to.

Who else but Gorbachev could have ended the Cold War? By opening up the Soviet system and granting more freedom to its people, he would reunify Europe and bring down the Berlin Wall. Many of his efforts within the Soviet Union would ultimately lead to democracy.

Turning a horrific personal experience into a global movement for justice is one of the bravest things a person can do. After escaping captivity, she became the spokesperson for the Yazidi people. Her award was a vital recognition of her courage and a reminder that survivors deserve to be heard at the highest levels of government.

Long after his presidency, Carter continued to have a positive influence on the world through the Carter Center. This organization monitors elections and works to eradicate rare diseases in developing countries. Carter did not let his presidential term define his ability to be a leader and continued to bring about change long after his time in the spotlight had ended.