Venezuelan Opposition leader María Corina Machado was on Friday awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting democratic rights and her struggle in achieving a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that Machado is “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times”.

“[Machado] meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel’s will for the selection of a peace prize laureate,” the committee said. “She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy.”

Machado has been forced into hiding since last year.

“Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people,” the committee said.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee described the 58-year-old as a “key, unifying figure” in Venezuela’s political Opposition that was once divided, but which has found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government.

“This is precisely what lies at the heart of democracy: our shared willingness to defend the principles of popular rule, even though we disagree,” the committee added.

Machado was the Opposition’s joint presidential candidate in the 2024 election before her candidacy was blocked by the Nicolás Maduro government.

Through her volunteer organisation Súmate, Machado has stood up for free and fair elections for more than two decades, the panel said.

She will be presented with the prize at a ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

However, it is unclear if Machado will participate in the ceremony, considering the threat she faces, the committee said on Friday.

In 2024, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo for its efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

On Monday, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Mary E Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance”.

The prize in physics was awarded to scientists John M Martinis, John Clarke and Michel Devoret on Tuesday “for the development of metal–organic frameworks”.

On Wednesday, the prize in chemistry was awarded to scientists Omar M Yaghi, Susumu Kitagawa and Richard Robson for “for the development of metal-organic frameworks”.

The Nobel Prize for Literature was given to Hungarian novelist and screenwriter László Krasznahorkai on Thursday for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”.

The Nobel for Economics will be announced on October 13.

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