• by Fredrik S. Heffermehl
• Friday, March 30, 2012
• Inter Press Service

A public authority in Sweden recently issued orders that the Stockholm-based Nobel Foundation must rein in and discipline the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee, which is tasked with selecting the Nobel peace laureates, writes Fredrik S. Heffermehl, Norwegian lawyer and author.

This announcement followed a four-year-old dispute over Norwegian misuse of the peace prize, established by the 1895 will of Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel, for those who "confer the greatest benefit to mankind."

The Swedish authorities opened an investigation based on evidence and research in my books on the peace prize (which are available in five languages, among them Chinese, English and Swedish).

The Nobel legacy is an object of national pride in Scandinavia, and there is a long tradition of coveting fake Nobel honor. The Swedish administrative authority must also have been hesitant to offend the daunting line of winners, from Albert Schweitzer to Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama. It chose to solve the dilemma by making clear demands for the future work with the Nobel prizes while avoiding criticism of past performance.

(*) Fredrik S. Heffermehl, Norwegian lawyer and author. Latest title: The Nobel Peace Prize. What Nobel Really Wanted, http://www.nobelwill.org

© Inter Press Service (2012) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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