Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Venezuelan politician Maria Corina Machado
What's the story
The Nobel Peace Prize 2025 has been awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the prize to her "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy." She has worked for almost 20 years to build a broad and diversified coalition to oppose current President Nicolás Maduro Chávez and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
Twitter Post
She won for her tireless work promoting democratic rights
BREAKING NEWS
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 10, 2025
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPeacePrize to Maria Corina Machado for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to… pic.twitter.com/Zgth8KNJk9
Reasons
'One of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage'
Calling her one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times, the Nobel Prize said Machado has been a key, unifying figure in a political opposition in Venezuela that was once deeply divided. As a founder of Súmate, an organization devoted to democratic development, it said, Machado stood up for free and fair elections more than 20 years ago. "It was a choice of ballots over bullets," the Nobel Prize quoted her as saying.
Maduro
Known as Venezuela's Iron Lady
Known as 'Venezuela's Iron Lady,' Machado has been in hiding for more than 14 months since Venezuela's presidential election, when the country's autocratic leader, Maduro, was declared the winner for a third term. Despite being underground, she has continued to advocate for free elections, the rule of law, and accountability in Caracas, as the government has restricted political rights, disqualified opposition candidates, and ruthlessly suppressed dissent.
Award criteria
An industrial engineer by trade
An industrial engineer by trade, she has been stripped of her seat in the National Assembly, one she won with a record number of votes in 2010. She has been physically assaulted, accused of treason, and accused of conspiring to assassinate Maduro—all in an effort to silence her. The government had also barred her from registering as a candidate in the general presidential election after she won the primary in 2023 with 92 percent of the vote.
2025
Machado nominated Edmundo González Urrutia
Machado then nominated Edmundo González Urrutia, a former diplomat and political rookie, to run in her place, and following the election, the United States and the European Parliament recognized him as Venezuela's lawful leader. González, however, escaped to Spain in September, when Maduro declared himself the winner and issued an arrest warrant for him. Maduro subsequently declared that Machado had also fled the nation, labeling both of them "cowards" in televised speeches.
Past
One person has turned down the award
As of 2024, the prize has been awarded 105 times. The youngest laureate is Malala Yousafzai, who was awarded the prize at 17, while the oldest is Joseph Rotblat, who was honored at the age of 86 for his work against nuclear weapons. Only one person has turned down the prize. Vietnamese politician Le Duc Tho and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger received the honor in 1973 for their contributions to ending the Vietnam War. Tho declined the award.