A Swedish professor has nominated NSA leaker Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize for his revelations of the surveillance program, but also to redeem the award’s prestige after it was awarded to President Obama in 2009.

In his letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Umea University’s Stefan Svallfors argues that Snowden, who would be the award’s youngest winner at 30, exemplified that “individuals can stand up for fundamental rights and freedoms.” Svallfors lauded Snowden’s “heroic effort at great personal cost.”


In 2009, President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize after less than a year in office, drawing criticism for the committee’s prematurity, including from Svallfors. The professor says that picking Snowden would “help to save the Nobel Peace Prize from the disrepute incurred by the hasty and ill-conceived decision to award US President Barack Obama the 2009 award.”

According to the Daily Mail’s translation of his statement, Svallfords believes Snowden to be a “highly affordable candidate.” Similiar past nominees include Wikileaks’ Julian Assange and Bradley Manning, who did not win.