Nobel Committee Addresses Protocol After Machado Presents Medal to President Trump

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The Norwegian Nobel Committee issued a statement on Friday clarifying the regulations governing the Nobel Peace Prize, affirming that while the title of laureate is irrevocable and non-transferable, recipients possess the full right to dispose of the physical medal and diploma as they see fit. The announcement coincided with confirmation from Washington that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado had presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House.

The statement from the Nobel Peace Prize Organization, released on Jan. 16, 2026, addressed the distinction between the honor of the award and its physical symbols.

The organization emphasized that the "medal and the diploma are the physical symbols confirming that an individual or organisation has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize." However, the committee noted that the recognition itself remains "inseparably linked" to the designated laureate.

"Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize," the statement read.

This clarification follows a high-profile diplomatic engagement in Washington on Friday, where President Trump met with Machado. In a post on his official Truth Social account, President Trump described the meeting as a "Great Honor" and confirmed the transfer of the award. 

"María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done," the President wrote, characterizing the action as a "wonderful gesture of mutual respect."

The meeting occurred shortly after Machado, who had previously dedicated the award to the President and described him as a "champion of freedom," arrived in the United States following a dramatic exit from Venezuela.

The Nobel Committee’s Friday statement explicitly addressed the permissibility of such actions under the statutes of the Nobel Foundation.

"There are no restrictions in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation on what a laureate may do with the medal, the diploma, or the prize money," the organization stated.

It clarified that a laureate is "free to keep, give away, sell, or donate these items." However, the committee firmly reiterated that a laureate "cannot share the prize with others, nor transfer it once it has been announced," and that the decision of the committee is final and applies for all time.

To illustrate the precedent for laureates parting with their medals, the organization provided a detailed history of similar occurrences.

The committee cited the case of Dmitry Muratov, the 2021 Peace Prize laureate from Russia, who sold his medal for $103.5 million in June 2022 to fund aid for Ukrainian refugee children.

Other examples included U.S. scientist James Watson, whose 1962 Medicine Prize medal was sold for $4.76 million in 2014, and Leon Lederman, a 1988 Physics laureate who sold his medal in 2015 to cover medical expenses.

The committee also noted historical instances of medals being gifted to political figures.

 The statement referenced Knut Hamsun, the 1920 Literature Prize laureate, who in 1943 traveled to Germany and presented his medal to Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels as a gesture of thanks, a gift the minister reportedly honored.

The organization noted that the current whereabouts of Hamsun's medal are unknown. In a different context, the family of Christian Lous Lange, the 1921 Peace Prize laureate, has loaned his medal to the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo for public display.

The 18-carat gold medal, designed by Gustav Vigeland in 1901 and weighing 196 grams, bears the Latin inscription pro pace et fraternitate gentium, meaning "for peace and the fraternity of nations."

While Machado has physically transferred this symbol to President Trump, the Nobel Committee maintained its distance from the political implications of the act. 

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee does not see it as their role to engage in day-to-day commentary on Peace Prize laureates or the political processes that they are engaged in," the statement read. It added that any choices made by laureates regarding their awards must be understood as their own responsibility.

The transfer of the medal comes against a backdrop of complex diplomatic maneuvering by the United States regarding the future of Venezuela.

Following the detention of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, the Trump administration has been balancing support for the traditional opposition, represented by Machado, with pragmatic engagement with the interim government led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.

While President Trump expressed gratitude for the medal, he has recently signaled skepticism regarding the opposition's capacity to govern, stating in a recent interview that Machado "doesn't have the support or the respect within the country" to lead.

Administration officials have indicated a strategic pivot toward working with the Rodríguez administration to ensure stability, a move reportedly influenced by intelligence assessments favoring the established structure of the former regime for a transitional period.

Despite this, Republican lawmakers have continued to pressure the White House to back Machado, arguing she has earned the support of the Venezuelan people.

Machado’s decision to gift the medal appears to be a symbolic effort to solidify U.S. support.

She had previously offered to share the honor with President Trump, a gesture that prompted the Nobel Institute to issue procedural clarifications regarding the indivisibility of the prize.

President Trump had subsequently remarked that Norway was "embarrassed" by the decision. With the physical transfer now complete, the Nobel Committee has reaffirmed that while the gold medal may change hands, the historical record of the laureate remains immutable.