Nobel Peace Prize 2022: Ten of the most famous winners - including Barack Obama and Malala Yousafzai

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As the Norwegian Nobel Committee prepares to announce the 2022 Peace Prize, we look back at a few previous winners.

The Nobel Peace Prize is often regarded as the highest honour a person or organisation can receive.

The prize has been awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee since 1901, with a few exceptions such as during the first and the second world wars.

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109 individuals and 29 organisations have won the award including several American presidents and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

As we look towards the 2022 winner being announced on Friday October 7, we have listed ten of the most well known people and organisations who has taken home the award over the years.

Ten of the most famous previous winners of the Nobel Peace Prize

Barack Obama, 2009

Obama won the Nobel Peace Price in 2009.Obama won the Nobel Peace Price in 2009.
Obama won the Nobel Peace Price in 2009. | Getty Images

Former US president Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, his first year in office, "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Malala Yousafzai & Kailash Satyarthi, 2014

Malala is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate.Malala is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Malala is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate. | AFP via Getty Images

Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi won the prize in 2014 "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education."

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Malala, born in 1997, is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate at the age of 17.

Nelson Mandela & Frederik Willem de Klerk, 1993

Mandela and de Klerk won the prize in 1993.Mandela and de Klerk won the prize in 1993.
Mandela and de Klerk won the prize in 1993. | AFP /AFP via Getty Images

Probably two of the most famous winners, Mandela and de Klerk was awarded Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in 1993 "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa."

Nelson Mandela then served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

Mikhail Gorbachev, 1990

Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for unifying the East and the West and ending the Cold War.Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for unifying the East and the West and ending the Cold War.
Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for unifying the East and the West and ending the Cold War. | AFP via Getty Images

The final leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev is probably best known for tearing down the Berlin Wall, following the Berlin Wall Speech by US president Ronald Reagan.

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Gorbachev was awarded the prize in 1990 "for the leading role he played in the radical changes in East-West relations."

The European Union, 2012

The European Union is one of 25 organisations to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.The European Union is one of 25 organisations to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The European Union is one of 25 organisations to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. | AFP via Getty Images

One of several organisations that has taken home the Peace Prize over the years, the European Union was chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe”.

Other organisations to have received the award include the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (2017), World Food Programme (2020) and United Nations (2001).

John Hume and David Trimble, 1998

John Hume and David Trimble were key figures in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland.John Hume and David Trimble were key figures in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
John Hume and David Trimble were key figures in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland. | AFP via Getty Images

John Hume and David Trimble were key figures in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and were chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in 1998 "for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland" for their work on the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement.

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Mother Teresa, 1979

Mother Teresa, also known as Teresa of Calcutta, won the prize in 1979.Mother Teresa, also known as Teresa of Calcutta, won the prize in 1979.
Mother Teresa, also known as Teresa of Calcutta, won the prize in 1979. | Getty Images

Mother Teresa, also known as Teresa of Calcutta, won the prize in 1979 "for her work for bringing help to suffering humanity."

Theodore Roosevelt, 1906

Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping put an end to the Russo-Japanese war.Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping put an end to the Russo-Japanese war.
Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping put an end to the Russo-Japanese war. | Getty Images

The second American president on the list, Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 "for his role in bringing to an end the bloody war recently waged between two of the world’s great powers,” after helping to end the Russo-Japanese war.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991

Aung San Suu Kyi is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence that has been condemned by several nations.Aung San Suu Kyi is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence that has been condemned by several nations.
Aung San Suu Kyi is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence that has been condemned by several nations. | ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 "for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights" in Burma, modern-day Myanmar.

Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested in 2021 following a coup d’état by the Myanmar military forces, and is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence condemned by the UN, most European countries and the United States.

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Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, 1989

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso won the prize in 1989The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso won the prize in 1989
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso won the prize in 1989 | AFP via Getty Images

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso won the prize in 1989 "for advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people."

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