The Norwegian Nobel Committee has issued a formal statement regarding the ownership of Nobel medals following a high-profile meeting between Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and United States President Donald Trump.
Okay News had on Thursday reported that Maria presented her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump in the Oval Office, describing the gesture as a ‘symbol of gratitude’ for the US-led military operation that removed Nicolas Maduro from power.
The Committee’s statement, released on Sunday, emphasized that while the honour of the award is inseparable from the laureate, there are no restrictions preventing recipients from giving away the physical gold medal. The body clarified that the prize is awarded based on past contributions and that the Committee does not interfere with or comment on the subsequent political actions or personal decisions of its laureates.
During the presentation, Machado delivered the medal in a gilded frame inscribed with praise for Trump’s leadership, likening herself to a “daughter of Bolivar” and the President to an “heir of Washington.”
In response, the Nobel Committee cited historical precedents of laureates parting with their medals, including Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, who auctioned his for charity, and Norwegian author Knut Hamsun, who gifted his literature medal to German official Joseph Goebbels in 1943.
