The Nobel Foundation on Sunday clarified that a Nobel Peace Prize cannot be passed on or symbolically transferred, following Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado’s claim that she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House.
In a statement, the Nobel Foundation said safeguarding the dignity of the Nobel Prizes and their administration is among its core missions and reiterated that the awards are governed strictly by Alfred Nobel’s will.
“A prize can therefore not, even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed,” the Foundation said.
Machado, who met Trump over lunch in the Private Dining Room of the White House, told reporters that she had presented her Nobel medal to the US president as a historic symbol of shared struggles for freedom between Venezuela and the United States.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado said, adding that she recounted an episode from two centuries ago when French General Marquis de Lafayette gifted Venezuelan independence leader Simón Bolivar a medal bearing the likeness of George Washington.
“Two hundred years in history, the people of Bolivar are giving back to the heir of Washington a medal, in this case the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom,” she said.
Trump later said Machado presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize “for the work I have done”, calling it “such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect”. He added: “Thank you María!”
The Norwegian Nobel Institute has previously stated that once awarded, a Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
The meeting marked the first in-person encounter between Trump and Machado. ‘
Machado’s White House visit came amid mixed signals from Trump regarding her political future. Earlier this month, he said it would be “very tough” for her to lead Venezuela, claiming she lacked sufficient support within the country. He has also publicly praised Rodríguez, calling her a “terrific person” following a recent phone call.
Machado’s US visit followed a private meeting earlier this week with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, where she sought his intervention for the release of political prisoners. She reappeared publicly in December after nearly a year in hiding to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
(with inputs from syndicated feed)
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