Lord David Trimble, the former First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Protestant Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998, on Tuesday submitted the names of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.
In October 1998, Trimble and Catholic leader John Hume were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
In June 2010, Trimble was appointed as an observer to the Israeli special independent public Commission of Inquiry into the Gaza flotilla raid. In 2011, the panel concluded that both Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and the interception of the flotilla “were found to be legally pursuant to the rules of international law.”
According to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, a nomination is considered valid if it is submitted by a person who falls within one of the following categories:
- Members of national assemblies and national governments (cabinet members/ministers) of sovereign states as well as current heads of states
- Members of The International Court of Justice in The Hague and The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague
- Members of l’Institut de Droit International
- Members of the international board of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
- University professors, professors emeriti and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion; university rectors and university directors (or their equivalents); directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes
- Persons who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- Members of the main board of directors or its equivalent of organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- Current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (proposals by current members of the Committee to be submitted no later than at the first meeting of the Committee after 1 February)
- Former advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Committee
In order to be considered for the award of the year, nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize shall be sent in to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo before the 1st day of February the same year. Nominations postmarked and received after this date are included in the following year’s discussions. In recent years, the Committee has received close to 200 different nominations for different nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. The number of nominating letters is much higher, as many are for the same candidates.
In the beginning of October, the Nobel Committee chooses the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates through a majority vote. The decision is final and without appeal. The names of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates are then announced.
The Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony takes place on December 10 in Oslo, Norway, where the Nobel Laureates receive their Nobel Prize, which consists of a Nobel Medal and Diploma, and a document confirming the prize amount.