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The Nobel Peace Center reminded this Thursday that the prize cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to other individuals, even though the physical medal may change hands
The statement came after the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado symbolically presented her medal from the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump at the White House the day before.
In a post shared on X, the institution specified that the title of Nobel Peace Prize belongs exclusively to the awarded individual, regardless of the fate of the medal given after the official announcement of the honor.
The entity quoted the Norwegian Nobel Committee literally, stating that “once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and remains so for all time.”
The message also explained that the Nobel Peace Prize medal measures 6.6 cm in diameter, weighs 196 grams, and is minted in gold. The obverse features a portrait of Alfred Nobel, while the reverse depicts three naked men with their arms around each other's shoulders as a symbol of fraternity, in a design that has remained unchanged for 120 years.
The Nobel Peace Center recalled that there are precedents in which Nobel medals have changed hands after the award has been granted.
As an example, he mentioned the case of journalist Dmitry Muratov, whose medal was auctioned for over 100 million dollars to support refugees from the war in Ukraine.
It was also noted that the medal currently displayed at the Nobel Center is on loan and was originally awarded to Christian Lous Lange, the first Norwegian laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The official clarification comes after Machado symbolically handed her medal to Trump, a gesture confirmed by the U.S. president himself, which sparked political reactions in Washington.
Republican congress members such as María Elvira Salazar and Mario Díaz-Balart publicly praised the act, highlighting it as a symbolic gesture of recognition for Trump's role in the policy towards Venezuela.
The statements sparked a public debate about the scope and meaning of the medal's award.
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