Claim:   In 2002, President George W. Bush was nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Status:   True.

Example:   [Collected on the Internet, 2001]

Well, it seems that GWB has just been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Further comment and editorial evaluation would be premature, but it's interesting, IMO.

Origins:   Despite a rumor that circulated late in 2001, President Bush wasn't amongst the nominees for the 2001 prize (which was awarded to the United Nations and its Secretary-General, Kofi Annan): The deadline for Peace Prize nominations is February 1, and Bush wasn't sworn in as president until January 20. For President Bush (or anyone else) to have produced accomplishments worthy of Nobel Prize recognition after a mere eleven days in office would have been a truly astounding feat indeed.

In February 2002, however, reports began circulating that members of the Norwegian Nobel committee had let it slip that George W. Bush was among the persons (along with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani) being considered for the 2002 Peace Prize. The Reuters news agency noted, however:

Neither Bush nor Blair is likely to win. Bishop Gunnar Staalsett, a member of the secretive five-member Nobel committee which elects the winner, has spoken out against the U.S.-led and British-backed strikes on Afghanistan.

President Bush was reportedly one of 156 candidates considered for the 2002 Peace Prize, which was awarded in October 2002 to former President Jimmy Carter.

Last updated:   7 April 2008

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  Sources:

    Doyle, Alister.   "Bush for Nobel Prize - If He Avoids War."

    Reuters.   25 September 2001.

    Mellgren, Doug.   "Peace Prize Will Give the World Brief Break from War on Terror Groups."

    Associated Press.   7 October 2001   (p. A27).

    Reuters.   "Blair and Bush Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize."

    4 February 2002.

    Reuters.   "Carter Wins Nobel Peace Prize."

    The New York Times.   11 October 2002.