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, former President Jimmy Carter has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002.
The prize will be formally presented December 10—the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel who established the awards—in Oslo. It carries a cash award of about U.S. $1 million.
Announcing its selection of Carter as the 2002 Nobel peace laureate—from a list of more than 150 candidates—the Norwegian Nobel Committee said:
"During his presidency (1977-1981), Carter's mediation was a vital contribution to the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, in itself a great enough achievement to qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize. At a time when the Cold War between East and West was still predominant, he placed renewed emphasis on the place of human rights in international politics.
"Through his Carter Center, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2002, Carter has since his presidency undertaken very extensive and persevering conflict resolution on several continents. He has shown outstanding commitment to human rights, and has served as an observer at countless elections all over the world. He has worked hard on many fronts to fight tropical diseases and to bring about growth and progress in developing countries. Carter has thus been active in several of the problem areas that have figured prominently in the over one hundred years of Peace Prize history.
"In a situation currently marked by threats of the use of power, Carter has stood by the principles that conflicts must as far as possible be resolved through mediation and international co-operation based on international law, respect for human rights, and economic development.''
Recent winners of the Nobel Peace Prize included United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan (2001), South Korea President Kim Dae-jung (2000), the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (1999), and Northern Ireland's political leaders John Hume and David Trimble (who shared the prize in 1998).
The Peace Prize first awarded in 1901,to Jean Henri Dunant, founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Frédéric Passy, founder and president of the first French peace society.
Other U.S. presidents who received the award were Theodore Roosevelt (1906) and Woodrow Wilson (1919). Civil rights leader Martin Luther King was awared the prize in 1964. Among the many other recipents over the years were Mother Teresa (1979), the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev (1990), and South Africa's political leaders Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk (who shared the prize in 1993).
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National Geographic Salutes Carter
President and Rosalynn Carter have been to the National Geographic Society's headquarters in Washington, D.C. twice in the past two years. He spoke at National Geographic's International Seminar and before many Society groups in January 2000 and then came again with Rosalynn this past July to speak in connection with the publication of their grandson Jason's book, Power Lines (National Geographic Books, 2002).
Carter also wrote the introduction to a four-part series on global challenges for the February issue of National Geographic Magazine.
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