The 2017 Nobel Prize award ceremony

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

The Nobel Prize awarding institutions

Who selects the Nobel Prize laureates?

In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry, Karolinska Institutet for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the Swedish Academy for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and a Committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was given the task to select the Laureates in Economic Sciences starting in 1969.

Links to the prize awarding institutions’ websites

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet
The Swedish Academy
The Norwegian Nobel Committee

Learn more about the nomination and selection of Nobel Prize laureates

The economic sciences laureates are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Read more about the academy here.

The peace laureates are selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Read more about the committee here.

Explore more

The organisation

The Nobel Foundation has ultimate responsibility for fulfilling the intentions in Alfred Nobel’s will.

Flower decorations at the 2016 Nobel Prize award ceremony

Flower decorations by Florist Helén Magnusson at the Nobel Prize award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall, 10 December 2016.

© Nobel Media. Photo: Pi Frisk.

The organisation

Interacting with, and inspiring, the next generation of scientists, discoverers and creative innovators is a key part of what we do.

2017_NPD_Tokyo_web

Attendees at the Nobel Prize Dialogue Tokyo 2017.

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud