2015 Nobel Peace Prize


The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for "its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011".
The National Dialogue Quartet was formed in 2013 and comprises four organizations in Tunisian civil society:
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".
Tunisian singer/songwriter Emel Mathlouthi at City Hall in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2015.

Nominations

The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 273 different nominations for the Peace Prize. 68 of these nominations were for organizations and 205 for persons. It is the second highest number of candidates as of 2015, after 278 in 2014.
Many news media speculated about who would be awarded. The award was a surprise to many. Media favourites included German Chancellor Angela Merkel for admitting large numbers of refugees and migrants to Germany in the European migrant crisis, American and Iranian foreign ministers John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif for the Iran nuclear deal, Pope Francis for his assistance in the United States–Cuban Thaw, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC guerrilla leader Timoleón Jiménez for the peace process in the Colombian conflict, and Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege who treats victims of sexual violence and has been nominated for this before.

Committee

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. For the 2015 award, the members were: