VOIWORLD/Sumit Chaturvedi
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her “tireless efforts in promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her unwavering struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday.
The announcement was made by committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes, who praised Ms. Machado for her courage and leadership in uniting Venezuela’s divided opposition amid years of political repression.
“In the past year, Ms. Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life, she has chosen to remain in Venezuela — a decision that has inspired millions,” the Academy said in its statement. “She has never wavered in her commitment to peace, nor in her resistance to the militarisation of Venezuelan society.”
Once a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly and one of the most prominent critics of President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, Machado has long campaigned for free elections, human rights, and civilian-led governance. Her recognition by the Nobel Committee underscores the international community’s acknowledgment of her steadfast pursuit of democracy through peaceful means — even as the government has banned her from public office and targeted her allies.
Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize went to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese grassroots organisation representing survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings — known as Hibakusha.
The 2025 Nobel Prize week began with the Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday (October 6), followed by Physics on Tuesday, Chemistry on Wednesday, and Literature on Thursday. The Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on October 13. Each Nobel Prize includes a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor, with the official ceremony scheduled for December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
