Washington: Venezuela’s Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado handed over the Nobel Peace Prize gold medal which she won last year to Donald Trump on Thursday.
The US President, who openly pitched for the award time and again, accepted it gleefully at the White House, and called it a ‘wonderful gesture.’
“Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!” Trump wrote in a social media post.
This is the first time that a Nobel Peace Prize awardee voluntarily handed over the medal. But can the award actually be transferred from its original recipient to somebody else?
The answer is an emphatic ‘No.’
Days before Machado visited the White House, the Norwegian Nobel Institute addressed the issue.
After Machado hinted that she might give her 2025 award to Trump, the institute reiterated on Sunday that the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked.
“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute said in a statement.
Citing the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, the institute said that appeals are not allowed once the winner’s name is announced. It also noted that Nobel Committees do not comment on the actions or statements of laureates after receiving the award.
Nobel Peace Prize, regarded as the most prestigious of all Nobel prizes, was presented to Machado on October 10, 2025. However, after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an overnight operation in Caracas on January 3, Machado announced she would present it to Trump.
Well, the award has come to him by default, but Trump has to wait and see if he gets it on his own merit in the future.
