Oslo - A record number of nominations, in all 205, have been
made for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Institute
said Friday.
The tally includes 172 individuals and 33 organizations, besting
the 2005 number of 199 nominations.
The nomination number was released the day after the five-member
Nobel Committee held its first session. Two of the members, including
Norwegian Parliament Speaker Thorbjorn Jagland who heads the
committee, were new elects.
Jagland, a Social Democrat, has also held the posts of prime
minister and foreign minister. Last year he said he was leaving
Norwegian politics.
The 2008 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to former Finnish president
Martti Ahtisaari who was recognized for mediating in a number of
international conflicts.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute was set up in 1904 to aid the Nobel
Committee to vet candidates. The Nobel Committee advises nominators
not to announce their proposals. However, there are no rules against
the procedure allowing plenty of speculation before the announcement,
normally in mid-October.
Public broadcaster NRK reported Friday that US President Barack
Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were among the nominees.
Among names mentioned in recent years are former German chancellor
Helmut Kohl, Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, Israeli nuclear
whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu, as well as the Austrian-based relief
organization SOS Children's Villages and the European Union.
Among those who have the right to nominate candidates for the
coveted award are parliamentarians, academics, former peace prize
laureates as well as current and former members of the Norwegian
Nobel Committee.
The Peace Prize is one of the prizes endowed by Swedish
industrialist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.
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