Washington/Oslo: The Nobel Peace Prize remains exclusively tied to the individual officially awarded it, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Friday, a day after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump during a White House visit.

In a statement issued from Oslo, the committee clarified that while the physical medal, diploma and prize money may be given away, donated or sold, the recognition itself cannot be transferred.

“Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize,” the Nobel Committee's statement cited by AFP news agency read.

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No restrictions on medal use

The committee further explained that even if the medal or diploma comes into someone else’s possession, it does not alter the identity of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

It added that it would not comment “on Peace Prize laureates or the political processes that they are engaged in.”

The Nobel body also noted that there are no restrictions on how laureates use their medal, diploma or prize money, pointing out that several Nobel winners in the past have sold or gifted their medals.

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The clarification followed Machado’s announcement that she had “presented” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump, a symbolic gesture that came after the US president sidelined her following the ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Trump, who had actively campaigned for last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, citing efforts to end multiple global conflicts, confirmed on Truth Social that he accepted the medal from Machado, despite the Nobel Committee’s reminder that the prize cannot be “revoked, shared, or transferred to others.”

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“It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!”

Why Machado won

Machado received the honour for “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,” according to the official award citation.

She travelled to Oslo last month to collect the prize after escaping Venezuela by boat, and at the ceremony dedicated the honour to Trump.