A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfre ...
laureates. There are five Nobel Committees, one for each Nobel Prize.
Four of these committees (for prizes in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...
physiology or medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...
, and
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...
Karolinska Institute
The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consis ...
, and the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is b ...
. These four Nobel Committees only propose laureates, while the final decision is taken in a larger assembly. This assembly is composed of the entire academies for the prizes in physics, chemistry, and literature, as well as the 50 members of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for the prize in physiology or medicine.
The fifth Nobel Committee is the
Norwegian Nobel Committee
The Norwegian Nobel Committee ( no, Den norske Nobelkomité) selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will.
Five members are appointed by ...
, responsible for the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine is the Nobel Committee responsible for proposing laureates for the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
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Norwegian Nobel Committee
The Norwegian Nobel Committee ( no, Den norske Nobelkomité) selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will.
Five members are appointed by ...
*
Nobel Prize controversies
Since the first award in 1901, conferment of the Nobel Prize has occasionally engendered criticismMatilda effect