Two Norwegian politicians on Thursday sent a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, nominating the U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel peace prize.
Baard Vegard Solhjell, a former Norwegian minister from the Socialist Left party, and his party colleague Snorre Valen, jointly wrote the nomination letter, in which they said that Snowden's revelations of U.S. monitoring of internet communications have contributed to the trust between nations and peoples that is necessary for peace.
The public debate and the political changes that have followed Snowden's whistleblowing has "contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order," they said in the letter.
Snowden has provided critical knowledge of how monitoring takes place in a modern society and "his actions have reintroduced trust and transparency as guiding principles in security. These values can not be overstated," said they.
Both Solhjell and Valen are members of the current Norwegian parliament.
The deadline for nominating candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 is Feb. 1. But the Norwegian Nobel Committee members can make their nomination as late as in late February at their first meeting after the expiry of the deadline.
Those entitled to nominate include former Nobel peace prize laureates, members of national assemblies and governments, university professors in certain disciplines such as history and social studies, and members of international courts.
Snowden was nominated by the Swedian sociology professor, Stefan Svallfors, in July 2013. This nomination stands good as nominations which come after the deadline are normally included in the following year's assessment.
The five-member committee, which received 259 nomination letters last year, never provide a list of nominees and claims that it is independent of outside influence when it makes a decision on the winner.
At the first review, the committee prepares what is called a short list,which usually contains the names of five to 20 nominees.
Although a choice is usually made in mid-September, a final decision can be up to the last moment before the announcement of the laureate or laureates, which takes place on the second Friday in October.
The Nobel peace prize is given on the 10th day of December every year at a ceremony held in Oslo City Hall.
