Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Ranked

Created by meffington Created 10-09-09 Updated: 10-13-09
From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to US President Barack Obama, Mother Theresa to Yasser Arafat, Al Gore to Theodore Roosevelt, the diversity of Laureates is extreme. In the face of President Obama's recently being named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner, lets revisit many of the Laureates of the past and decide who most deserved the peace prize.

Vote 1-10 (least to most deserving).
  • 127
    Votes
  • 1498
    Views
  • 26
    Items
  • 9
    Comm.
Add a new item
Expand All / Collapse All

  • Lech Wałęsa

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    kubastolarski - Oct 10th 2009, 07:54
    93%
    100% Positive | 3 votes | 9.3 Average
    Lech Wałęsa co-founded Solidarność (Solidarity), the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, spent a year imprisoned, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.

    Lech Wałęsa

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Mother Teresa

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 13:01
    89%
    92% Positive | 13 votes | 8.9 Average
    Mother Teresa, "Leader of Missionaries of Charity" was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She worked tirelessly to minister and raise awareness of the poor, sick, dying and orphaned in India and around the world.

    Mother Teresa

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • International Committee of the Red Cross

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 13:07
    85%
    92% Positive | 12 votes | 8.5 Average
    The ICRC has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three separate occasions (1917, 1944, and 1963) for the organizations humanitarian efforts around the globe.

    The official missions statement of the ICRC is as follows: "The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral, and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance."

    International Committee of the Red Cross

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Martin Luther King, Jr.

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 12:59
    80%
    77% Positive | 13 votes | 8.0 Average
    In 1964, Dr. King was given the Nobel Peace Prize as the "Leader of "Southern Christian Leadership Conference". His work to establish peace between races in the United States and elsewhere is unparalleled in US history.

    Martin Luther King, Jr.

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Desmond Tutu

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 13:12
    69%
    70% Positive | 10 votes | 6.9 Average
    The "Bishop of Johannesburg; former Secretary General, South African Council of Churches", Desmond Tutu, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, partially due to his campaign against the apartheid. He has also received the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism, the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2005[1] and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.

    Desmond Tutu

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Andrei Sakharov

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 13:23
    67%
    67% Positive | 9 votes | 6.7 Average
    Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 "[for his] struggle for human rights, for disarmament, and for cooperation between all nations". As a physicist and human rights activist, Andrew sought to enlighten the Soviet public to the dangers of the Nuclear arms race. Andrei was not allowed to leave the Soviet Union in 1975 to collect his award, and his writings and word were often suppressed by the government.

    Andrei Sakharov

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Woodrow Wilson

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 13:18
    61%
    80% Positive | 10 votes | 6.1 Average
    Woodrow Wilson, former President of United States of America and Founder of the League of Nations was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for his creation of the League of Nations. During his fight for the US to join the League of Nations after its creation, Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke, but his international policy goals and his optimism continued.

    Woodrow Wilson

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • United Nations/Kofi Annan

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    bull - Oct 9th 2009, 13:52
    56%
    67% Positive | 9 votes | 5.6 Average
    Winner in 2001 Kofi Annan served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997-2007. Together they were awarded the Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world".

    United Nations/Kofi Annan

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Jimmy Carter

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 12:37
    52%
    58% Positive | 12 votes | 5.2 Average
    Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development"

    Jimmy Carter

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (1)

    • -1
      narcan - Oct 9th 2009, 15:25 Show

  • President Barack Obama

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 12:09
    52%
    38% Positive | 13 votes | 5.2 Average
    The 44th President of the United States of America was announced as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, October 09, 2009. He's listed by the Nobel Peace Prize organization as a recipient "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". Many have argued that this peace prize was given prematurely before any real foreign policy wins occurred, others argue that it's more of an homage to his strategy of bringing together multilateral discussions and empowering international organizations.

    French PM Nicolas Sarkozy called the award an indication of the "return of America into the hearts of the people of the world."

    President Barack Obama

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (4)

    • -1
      zrod - Oct 9th 2009, 13:27 Show
    • +2
      narcan - Oct 9th 2009, 15:26 Hide
      "Hi guys. I know I'm new at this president thing, but it would be awesome if we could all just get along, you know, the blacks and whites, americans and muslims, and while we're on the subject, I think less nuclear weapons is a good thing."
    • +1
      meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 18:47 Hide
      from an email from Barack Obama earlier this evening:

      This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

      To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

      But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

      That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

      This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

      So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

      Thank you,

      President Barack Obama

    • +1
      crazysticks - Oct 10th 2009, 09:25 Hide
      "Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, which recognize completed scientific or literary accomplishment, the Nobel Peace Prize may be awarded to persons or organizations that are in the process of resolving a conflict or creating peace." -wiki

      Yes it's early for obama, but the peace prize had to be given to someone by the end of the year. I'm not saying he earned or deserved it, but let's just think about that line "in the process of resolving a conflict or creating peace". I don't know the whole history on the prize, but I know that Obama definitely means well. One of the Norwegian committee said of him: "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

      I don't think it is up to anyone but the five people in the Norwegian committee to judge whether he deserved it, but I do think it is up to everyone in the future to decide what history will say about him living up to it.

  • Al Gore

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 12:32
    45%
    31% Positive | 13 votes | 4.5 Average
    In 2007, Al Gore shared the Nobel Peace prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change".

    Al Gore

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (2)

    • +2
      zrod - Oct 9th 2009, 13:26 Hide
      Not quite sure how the whole global warming thing ties into world peace??
    • +1
      narcan - Oct 9th 2009, 15:24 Hide
      two words...liberal media.

      damn hippies.

  • Yasser Arafat

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    meffington - Oct 9th 2009, 12:43
    24%
    10% Positive | 10 votes | 2.4 Average
    Yasser Arafat shared the award with two other Israeli's in 2004 for bringing the Oslo accords to Israel. They were awarded the Nobel Peace prize "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East".

    Yasser Arafat

    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (2)

    • +1
      zrod - Oct 9th 2009, 14:53 Hide
      Wasn't he once considered a massive terrorist?
    • +1
      narcan - Oct 9th 2009, 15:23 Hide
      i don't know if massive is the right word, but yes, the man had a storied past.

Need to be rated

  • Yitzhak Rabin

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:13
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    This well-known and well-loved Prime Minister of Israel worked with Yassar Arafat and Shimon Peres to bring peace to the Middle East.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Shimon Peres

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:12
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    Working as the Israeli Foreign Minister, together with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, Peres worked towards Middle East peace between Palestine and Israel. Having served in a number of positions in Israel, including Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and President, Peres has had qualifications to work towards peace for many years.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Kim Dae Jung

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:09
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    President of South Korea, this gentleman strove to do the one thing that hadn’t been done in years—to achieve peace with North Korea. He also fought for human rights in the East Asian area, something that had not previously been done.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Elie Wiesel

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:08
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    An author who was raised in the Holocaust, and survived it. He now has written almost sixty books, and is a world leader in Jewish spirituality. Due to his commitment to peace, and having gone through the atrocities of the death camps, as well as his continuous efforts for peace, Wiesel won his Peace Prize.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Albert Schweitzer

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:06
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    A doctor, theologian and philosopher amongst other things, Dr. Schweitzer received his Peace Prize for his “Reverence of Life” philosophy, and the founding of his hospital in what is now Gabon, in Africa.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Le Duc Tho

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:05
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    Known as a Vietnamese diplomat, general, and politician. In cooperation with Henry Kissinger, he coordinated the cease-fire at the Paris Peace Accords, but refused his share of the Nobel Peace Prize that he was awarded for his work, as he did not feel that there was enough peace in his country.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Henry Kissinger

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:03
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    Having served as the Secretary of State as well as the National Security Advisor for the Nixon Administration, Kissinger played a huge role in US foreign policy. His ability to negotiate brought about a cease-fire in the Vietnam war, as well as the United States’ withdrawal from Vietnam. He, and Le Duc Tho both won the Peace Prize for the cease-fire at the Paris Peace Accords.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Woodrow Wilson

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:01
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    Twenty eighth President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson was barely re-elected before World War I broke out. In an effort to broker peace world-wide, he made a trip to Paris to help set up the League of Nations—the forerunner to the United Nations—and for efforts, Wilson was honored with the Peace Prize.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Anwar Sadat

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 19:00
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    Having risen through the ranks of Egypt’s political party under Garnal Nasser, Anwar Sadat took over as president, and started to do things his own way. One of those things was to begin a multi-party system and to broker a peace treaty with Menachem Begin of Israel, which earned him the Peace Prize.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Menachem Begin

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 18:56
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    The sixth prime minister of Israel, Begin originally hailed from Poland, but adopted Israel as his own. Rising through the ranks of government, and starting his own party, he finally met up with Anwar Sadat, and brokered a peace treaty with Egypt.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Dag Hammarskjold

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 18:54
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    This gentleman, the second Secretary General of the United Nations had a talent for brokering peace. On the night of his death, he was headed to work out a deal between two forces, one of them the UN peace-keeping force in Africa, when his plane crashed, killing him, and fifteen others aboard.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Theodore Roosevelt

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 18:52
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    One of three sitting United States Presidents that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize during their time in office, Teddy Roosevelt worked to ensure the Panama Canal was finished, showed off U.S. power by sending out a huge fleet of ships—and to cap things off, he brokered the end of the Russo-Japanese War, which is what he won the Nobel Peace Prize for.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • 14th Dalai Lama

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 18:50
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    Having set up a government-in-exile, the Dalai Lama has promoted non-violence in support of Tibet’s liberation struggles from China. Due to these efforts, he won his Peace Prize.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)

  • Mikhail Gorbachev

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    • 6
    • 7
    • 8
    • 9
    • 10
    5
    Meetz1064 - Oct 13th 2009, 18:48
    0%
    0% Positive | 0 votes | 0.0 Average
    One of the former Russian presidents/premiers, Gorbachev was awarded his prize due to the fact that with his efforts, reforms were made in Russia before its collapse, and the Cold War ended, with the help of President Ronald Reagan.
    New Comment | Expand All | Collapse All

    Comments (0)