US President
Donald Trump was handed the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal by Venezuelan opposition leader
María Corina Machado.
After the rare move, a statement was released by the Norwegian Nobel Committee clarifying that the prize itself cannot be transferred.
On Thursday, Machado visited the White House and presented the medal in a golden frame. In return, Trump gave Machado a maroon swag bag bearing his signature in gold. Machado had publicly dedicated the 2025 Peace Prize to Trump following his public campaign for the award since last month.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee released a statement titled, "The Nobel Prize and the Laureate Are Inseparable," and said that the prize, its honour and recognition remain linked to the laureate designated by the committee.
"Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize," the statement said.
It added: "Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."
The committee added that laureates may keep, give away, sell, or donate their medals, but the prize itself cannot be shared, transferred, or revoked once awarded. "The decision is final and applies for all time," the statement read.
The medal is cast in 18-carat gold, weighs 196 grams, and measures 6.6 centimetres in diameter.
The prize was designed by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland in 1901, and the front of the prize features Alfred Nobel, while the back depicts three naked men with arms around one another, symbolising fraternity. The inscription reads, pro pace et fraternitate gentium, which is Latin for "for peace and the fraternity of nations."
Several laureates have previously given away or sold their medals, including Kofi Annan, Dmitry Muratov, David Thouless, James Watson, and Leon Lederman. However, it was the medal that was given away, not the prize.
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