Norwegian MP nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

A Norwegian lawmaker has said that he has nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in the Middle East.

Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the far-right Progress Party, said on Wednesday Trump should be considered because of his work “for a peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel which opens up for possible peace in the Middle East”.

Israel and the UAE agreed last month to a historic deal normalising relations and are scheduled to sign it at a White House ceremony on September 15.

“No matter how Trump acts at home and what he says at press conferences, he has absolutely a chance at getting the Nobel Peace Prize,” Tybring-Gjedde, told The Associated Press news agency.

He said he nominated Trump for the 2021 prize as “Donald Trump meets the criteria”.

Nominations must be sent to the Norwegian Nobel Committee by February 1, meaning the deadline to nominate people for this year’s peace prize has passed.

Tybring-Gjedde was one of the two Norwegian MPs who had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his efforts to bring reconciliation between North and South Koreas. Any politician serving in a national legislature can nominate someone for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Former US President Barack Obama was awarded the prize in 2009 only months into his first term, a move many felt was premature. The Norwegian committee said it honoured Obama for his commitment to “seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons”.

Last year, Trump predicted that he would win the Nobel Prize “for a lot of things if they gave it out fairly, which they don’t”.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee does not publicly comment on nominees. Under its rules, the information is required to be kept secret for 50 years.

“It is now to hope that the Nobel Committee is able to consider what Trump has achieved internationally and that it does not stumble in established prejudice against the US President,” Tybring-Gjedde said in a Facebook post.

However, he said he does not agree with all of Trump’s policies.

“I am not a big Trump supporter,” he said.

The process of considering candidates and awarding the Nobel Peace Prize is done in Norway, in contrast to the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded in neighbouring Sweden.