The international accolade is awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee as per the guidelines stated in Alfred Nobel’s will.
Nobel’s will highlighted that the Peace Prize is to go to whoever “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.
The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly in 1901 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) founder Jean Henry Dunant, and French peace activist and economist Frédéric Passy.
Under the helms of the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, the Peace Prize has since been annually awarded.
As the anticipation grow for the Nobel Peace Prize 2015 winner, let's take a look at the list of Nobel laureates who have bagged the Nobel Peace Prize between 2000 and 2014 below.
2014
WINNERS: Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani young activist Malala Yousafzai were joint-recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education"
INFO/CAUSE: Kailash's notable contribution was towards the development of international conventions on children's rights. As for Malala, despite being shot by Taliban gunmen in 2012, she continued her struggle to further the cause and became a leading advocate of girls' rights.
Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani young activist Malala Yousafzai were joint-recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize 2014
2013
WINNER: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2013 “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons"
INFO/CAUSE: OPCW founded in 1997 managed to to prohibit the manufacturing and storage of chemical weapons through an international Chemical Weapons Convention.
2012
WINNER: The European Union (EU) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2012 for contributions spanning over six decades “to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe"
INFO/CAUSE: The fall of European communist regimes in the 1990s enabled the union’s expansion to include a few Central and Eastern European countries where democracy and conflict were precursos for membership.In the post-war Balkan States, EU membership fortified the reconcilation process and Turkey's accession to EU has pushed for democracy and human rights.
2011
WINNERS: Women’s peace advocates Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize 2011.
INFO/CAUSE: Liberian President Ellen and Leymah who hails from Liberia alongside Yemen resident Tawakkol were acknowledged "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work".
2010
WINNER: This year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China".
INFO/CAUSE: Liu had been imprisoned for over a decade for raising concerns about the need for China to shift its political and legal system in the direction of democracy.
2009
WINNER: US President Barack H.Obama was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 2009 when he took office less than eight months.
INFO/CAUSE: “His extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" during his office tenure and even before his election garned him the accolade.
He championed cooperation across national, ethnic, religious and political dividing lines and called for a fresh beginning between the Muslim world and the West.
US President Barack H.Obama was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 2009
2008
WINNER: Former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari bagged the Peace Prize "for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts"
INFO/CAUSE: Ahtisaari had major role to play from helping Namibia to achieve independence in 1989-1990, arbitrating in Kosovo in 1999 and 2005-2007 and to putting an end to the long-lasting conflict in the Indonesian province of Aceh in 2005.
2007
WINNER: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize "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"
INFO/CAUSE: Former US Vice President Al Gore's efforts especially on his relentless campaign to make climate crisis on the political agenda and IPCC's eye-opening reports on climate change and its impact to mankind earned them the award.
2006
WINNERS: Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were the recipients of this prize "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below"
INFO/CAUSE: Since its establishment in 1983 Grameen Bank's objective has been to grant poor people small loans on easy terms known as micro-credit and Yunus was the founder of the bank.
2005
WINNER: The Nobel Peace Prize 2005 was awarded jointly to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Mohamed ElBaradei "for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way"
INFO/CAUSE: Their efforts on arms control and disarmament.
2004
WINNER: Wangari Maathai became the first African woman recipient of the Peace Prize this year "for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace"
INFO/CAUSE: Maathai also being the first female scholar from East and Central Africa to have pursued doctorate in Biology fought for democracy in Kenya.
2003
WINNER: Iran's first female judge Shirin Ebadi awarded "for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children".
INFO/CAUSE: The First Female Peace Prize Laureate from the Islamic World.
2002
WINNER: 39th President of the United States of America Jimmy Carter "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".
INFO/CAUSE: The pinnacle of Carter's presidential term was the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.
2001
WINNERS: The Peace Prize was awarded jointly to United Nations and Kofi Annan "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world"
INFO/CAUSE: Kofi Annan was awarded for giving a new breath and meaning to UN and prioritising human rights. His struggle to contain the spreading of the HIV virus in Africa and his declared opposition to international terrorism.
2000
WINNER: Kim Dae-jung "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular".
INFO/CAUSE: Kim known as the 'Sunshine Politician' for his sunshine policy towards North Korea laid foundations for peaceful reunification between North and South Korea which had been waging war since 1950.
Click the link to watch the Live Streaming of 2015 Nobel Peace Prize winner announcement in Oslo, Norway.
