167 nominations for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize

A preliminary count showed that 167 people and groups have been nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, but more names were expected, the awards committee’s secretary said in Norway today.

Geir Lundestad, the non-voting secretary, said proposals postmarked by the February 1 nomination deadline could still arrive, and that committee members could make their own proposals at their first meeting on February 21.

The secretive five-member committee refuses to say who is nominated for the coveted prize, giving only a number but a few names become known because those making the nomination announced their choice.

This year’s nominations are expected to include former US vice president Al Gore, for his campaign to draw attention to global warming; Sail Training International, a British-based charity helping young people develop through sailing; and the US humanitarian aid group Mercy Corps.

Lundestad said the nominations received so far this year were below the record of 199 for 2005, as well as last year’s 191 nominations, when the prize went to Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded to help the poor.

“What characterised this year’s nominations were campaigns for two or three candidates, where we got hundreds of nominations for each,” he said.

Others mentioned in early speculation on the Internet, but not confirmed, include Bolivian president Evo Morales, the Rotary Foundation, Belorussian human rights defender Ales Bialatski, and Taiwanese opposition leader Shih Ming-Teh.

The decision is announced in mid-October, with the prize always presented on the December 10 anniversary of the death of its creator, Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel.