2016

Edward Snowden has received a public nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize

In February 2016, Reuters reported that Norways Peace Research Institute had placed Edward Snowden at the top of their list of candidates for the Prize.

2014

Edward Snowden received eight public nominations for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.



2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai, but Edward Snowden was a high-profile candidate for the prize, whose eight public nominations provoked a great deal of debate.

On 28 June 2014, Aftenposten – Norway’s second biggest newspaper – published a leader article recommending that Edward Snowden be give the award:

Awarding Snowden the Nobel Peace Prize would be an extremely bold and very controversial, but in our opinion also a correct choice.

Academics, parliamentarians and former prize winners are among the groups eligible to make nominations for the Prize. Edward Snowden’s Nobel nominations are listed in order of their announcement.

Professor Stefan Svallfors

On 13 July 2013 Stefan Svallfors, Professor of Sociology at Umeå University in Sweden, announced on Twitter that he had submitted a formal nomination of Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize. He also released an image of the letter he sent to the Nobel Committee for the nomination.

Professor Svallfors cites Edward Snowden’s “heroic contribution” at, for him, a “great personal cost”, and states that Snowden has shown people that they can “stand up for fundamental civil and human rights”. Professor Svallfors also refers to the Nüremberg trials, which ruled that: “I was only following orders” may never be used as an excuse for acts that violate civil and human rights.

Svallfors stated that “Despite this, it’s very unusual that individual citizens demonstrate the insight of personal responsibility and courage shown by Edward Snowden… Even for this reason, he is an especially worthy candidate.”

Professor Svallfors argued that awarding the Peace Prize to Edward Snowden would somewhat make up for the controversial decision to award the 2009 prize to Barack Obama, and help restore the Prize’s damaged reputation. “It would show that the committee are prepared to stand up for the defence of human freedoms and rights, even when such a defence is not looked upon favourably by the world’s dominant military power.”

Professor Marcello Ferrada de Noli

On 17 July 2013, the Swedish newspaper Ystads Allehanda reported that Professor Marcello Ferrada de Noli had nominated Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize in a joint nomination with Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning.

Norwegian parliamentarians

On 29 January 2014 it emerged that Norwegian parliamentarians Snorre Valen and Baard Vegar Solhjell, a former government minister, had also nominated Edward Snowden for the award. The two parliamentarians stated that “The public debate and changes in policy that have followed in the wake of Snowden’s whistleblowing have contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order.” The full text of their nomination letter is available here.

European Parliament Green / European Free Alliance group

On 31 January 2014 – the final day for nominations – the Green / European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament announced that Edward Snowden was their nomination for the Prize. The Green / EFA group has 58 MEPs, making it the Parliament’s fourth largest.

Die Linke

Also on 31 January 2014, Die Linke – the 64-strong left grouping in the German Bundestag – announced that Edward Snowden was also their nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pirate Party MPs and MEPs

On 3 February 2014, the Pirate Parties announced that all qualified members of Pirate Parties internationally had jointly nominated Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination letter was sent to the Nobel Committee from the Brussels office of Amelia Andersdotter MEP on 31 January 2014 and was signed by herself, the other Swedish Pirate Party member of the European Parliament, Christian Engström, and the three Pirate Party members of the Icelandic Parliament (Birgitta Jonsdottir, Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson and Jón Þór Ólafsson). Pirate Times has translated the nomination letter into French and Spanish.

Brazilian Senator Vanessa Grazziotin

On 4 February 2014, AP reported that Brazilian Senator Vanessa Grazziotin – who heads the Investigative Parliamentary Commission into NSA activities in Brazil – had also nominated Edward Snowden for the Prize. In a statement, Grazziotin said that Edward Snowden’s revelations had contributed to a more “stable and peaceful world” because when governments “work secretly against citizens and states, global peace and stability are more difficult to achieve.”

Professor Love Ekenberg

On 5 February 2014, Professor Love Ekenberg, head of Stockholm University’s Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, announced that he had nominated Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize. Ekenberg’s nomination letter states that “A foundation for freedom of opinion and democracy is that people privately and without reprisals from exsisting powers can communicate with each other, exchange ideas, experiences and opinions… Rights to confidential communications are therefore classified as basic human rights and are enshrined in constitutions, laws and international declarations.”