Former U.N. human rights chief Navanethem “Navi” Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in Oslo, Norway. Pillay, a South Africa-born judge on the International Court of Justice, is 85. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said she was recognized for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
The award is widely regarded as the most prestigious honor of its kind. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the peace prize, which has gone to 112 individuals and 28 institutions since 1901.
Pillay’s win came after the committee received 287 nominations, just over a quarter of them for organizations. Prognosticators had pointed to the International Space Station, emergency teams in Sudan, children’s advocates in Ukraine and two international courts as possible contenders. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had also drawn attention in prediction markets, and President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he deserves the prize.
Last year’s laureate, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, gave her medal to Trump after the United States ousted Nicolás Maduro. The committee has said the honor cannot be transferred.
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced Monday. The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor, about $1.2 million.
