Nobel Peace Prize Centennial

Norway Post issued 8 stamps and a miniature sheet

On 14 September 2001, Norway Post issued 8 stamps and a miniature sheet to commemorate the centenary of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious prizes in the world. For a hundred years it has been awarded to individuals and organizations in honor and recognition of their peace efforts. More recently, it has also been instrumental in stimulating and speeding up peace processes.

Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel, born in Sweden made provision for five prizes in his will. The prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine and literature were to be awarded by Swedish institutions, while the fifth, the Peace Prize, was to be awarded by a committee of five persons appointed by the Norwegian Storting (parliament).

Peace Prize

Each year, in the middle of October, the eyes of the world are focussed on the door into the large assembly room at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway. Punctually at 11.00 a.m., the chairman and secretary of the Committee come out and announce the year's Peace Prize laureate. The ceremonial presentation takes place two months later, on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, at the City Hall in Oslo. In the presence of the king and queen of Norway, representatives of Government, the Storting and the diplomatic corps, the chairman of the Nobel Committee hands over a medal and a diploma. The prize money in 2001 is SEK 10 million (about US$ 1.08 million).

Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland

The Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943), known all over the world for his sculptures in the Vigeland Park in Oslo, designed the Peace Prize medal. The diploma has been designed by a number of different Norwegian artists through the years.

Norway Post

Norway Post has long been looking forward to making its contribution to the Nobel Peace Prize Centennial celebrations. A decision was made to produce eight stamps and one miniature sheet, plus an exclusive album.
Norway's most prominent stamp designers, engraver Sverre Morken and graphic designer Enzo Finger, were commissioned to design the stamps. Morken spent a year engraving eight portraits, while Enzo Finger provided supplementary illustratiions. The stamps have been printed in 2-color intaglio and 6-color offset. Silkscreen printing has also been used for the miniature sheet.

Norwegian Nobel Institute

The choice of the eight persons for the stamps was made in collaboration with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Alfred Nobel was an obvious choice, and he can be seen on one of the stamps and on the miniature sheet. The seven laureates are Henry Dunant (first prizewinner, 1901), Fridtjof Nansen (1922), Martin Luther King jr. (1964), Mikhail Gorbachev (1980), Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), Rigoberta Menchú Tum (1992) and Nelson Mandela (1993). They represent different continents and different eras, but most emphasis is on recent times.

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