A member of the Parliament of Norway says he has nominated WikiLeaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.

Snorre Valen, a member of the Socialist Left party, announced his decision to nominate the whistle-blowing organization on his blog.

"WikiLeaks have contributed to the struggle for [human rights, democracy and freedom of speech] globally, by exposing (among many other things) corruption, war crimes and torture — some times even conducted by allies of Norway," he wrote. He also cited WikiLeaks's role in the recent uprisings in Tunisia, which resulted in the abdication of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali after 24 years of rule.

In mid-January, former Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer gave WikiLeaks information about the bank accounts of more than 2,000 prominent individuals, many of whom may have committed tax evasion.

The nomination period for the 2011 prize ended Tuesday. The committee received 237 names for the prize in 2010.