Nobel Peace Prize Criticism
See also: Nobel Prize controversiesSince August 2007 Heffermehl has marked himself as a staunch critic of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which, according to Heffermehl, has failed to comply with the will of Alfred Nobel, thereby making several awards—45% of the awards after 1945—juridically illegal. Among the laureates perceived by Heffermehl as illegal are the more controversial laureates, such as Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho (1973) and Arafat, Peres and Rabin (1994), but also less controversial ones such as Mother Teresa (1979) and Elie Wiesel (1986). Although many laureates have done "commendable work", Heffermehl stresses that this is not good enough to receive a prize whose criteria explicitly pertain to disarmament and peace work.
His views were first explained in-depth in the 2008 book Nobels vilje (English: "Nobel's Will"). Since 1948, the selection of members of the Nobel Committee has been delegated from the Parliament of Norway (against what Nobel prescribed) to the major political parties. According to Heffermehl, the Norwegian political parties have used committee membership as an award to over-the-hill politicians in recognition of their service, rather than picking non-partisan people with an actual background in peace activism. Furthermore, Heffermehl, being an opponent of the Norwegian membership in NATO, finds that the broad pro-NATO consensus among Norwegian political parties has skewed the Nobel Peace Prize in a similar direction. This, says Heffermehl, runs contrary to Alfred Nobel's wishes to abandon military institutions.
In an interview with Ny Tid he suggested that the current Committee members be replaced with people such as Jan Egeland, Ingrid Fiskaa, Jostein Gaarder and Sverre Lodgaard. Other suggestions from Heffermehl include Gunnar Garbo, Ingrid Eide, Erik Dammann, Torild Skard, Reiulf Steen, Johan Galtung and Berit Ås. In Nobels vilje, Heffermehl regrets that Eide was not hired as Nobel Committee secretary when she actually applied for that position in 1990.
Read more about this topic: Fredrik Heffermehl
Famous quotes containing the words nobel, peace, prize and/or criticism:
“Parents can fail to cheer your successes as wildly as you expected, pointing out that you are sharing your Nobel Prize with a couple of other people, or that your Oscar was for supporting actress, not really for a starring role. More subtly, they can cheer your successes too wildly, forcing you into the awkward realization that your achievement of merely graduating or getting the promotion did not warrant the fireworks and brass band.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)
““From those constellations turn
Your eyes, and sleep; for every man
Is living; and for peace upon
His life should rest;
This must everybody learn
For mutual happiness; that trust
Alone is best.””
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Eternall God, O thou that onely art
The sacred Fountain of eternall light,
And blessed Loadstone of my better part;
O thou my heart’s desire, my soul’s delight,
Reflect upon my soul, and touch my heart,
And then my heart shall prize no good above thee;
And then my soul shall know thee; knowing, love thee;
And then my trembling thoughts shall never start
From thy commands, or swerve the least degree,
Or once presume to move, but as they move in thee.”
—Francis Quarles (1592–1644)
“I, with other Americans, have perhaps unduly resented the stream of criticism of American life ... more particularly have I resented the sneers at Main Street. For I have known that in the cottages that lay behind the street rested the strength of our national character.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)