Nobel Peace Prize winners quiz (50 questions)
From the founder of the Red Cross to today's human rights defenders: how well do you know the people who won the Nobel Peace Prize, and why?
About this quiz: the people, prizes and dates were checked against official and reference sources, and the stories are retold in makekite's own words with the help of AI. If you spot a mistake, please tell us on the contact page.
50 multiple-choice questions, with the answer explained after each one.
Answer each question, see why, and beat your best score.
All 50 questions and answers
Want to check an answer or run the quiz out loud? Every question is here, with the answer hidden until you open it.
- Which Swiss businessman, moved by the suffering after a battle in 1859, helped to start the Red Cross and shared the very first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901?
- Albert Schweitzer
- Fridtjof Nansen
- Élie Ducommun
- Henry Dunant
Show answer
Henry Dunant. After the Battle of Solferino, Dunant organised help for the wounded and later wrote A Memory of Solferino, which proposed national aid societies for the sick and wounded. He shared the 1901 prize with the French peace campaigner Frédéric Passy.
- Who was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1905, partly for her anti-war novel Lay Down Your Arms?
- Jane Addams
- Emily Greene Balch
- Bertha von Suttner
- Alva Myrdal
Show answer
Bertha von Suttner. Bertha von Suttner, born in Prague, used her writing to argue against war. Her novel became one of the most influential books of the nineteenth century.
- The Norwegian scientist and explorer Fridtjof Nansen won the 1922 prize. What were the 'Nansen passports' named after him?
- A pass for polar explorers
- Food ration cards
- Free train tickets for soldiers
- Identity papers that let stateless refugees cross borders
Show answer
Identity papers that let stateless refugees cross borders. After 1922 the League of Nations gave Nansen passports to stateless refugees so that they could cross national borders. Nansen also led the return of prisoners of war and organised famine relief.
- Albert Schweitzer won the 1952 prize after building a hospital in which African country?
- Kenya
- South Africa
- Ghana
- Gabon
Show answer
Gabon. Schweitzer, a doctor, missionary and thinker, founded his hospital at Lambaréné in Gabon and worked there until he died in 1965. The Nobel Committee praised his 'reverence for life'.
- Albert Lutuli, who led the African National Congress, was the first person from Africa to win the Peace Prize. What was he honoured for?
- Founding a free university
- His non-violent struggle against apartheid
- Mapping the Nile
- Ending a war in Congo
Show answer
His non-violent struggle against apartheid. Lutuli was awarded the 1960 prize but received it in 1961. The prize recognised his peaceful campaign against apartheid in South Africa.
- Which United Nations Secretary-General was awarded the 1961 Nobel Peace Prize after his death?
- Lester Pearson
- Dag Hammarskjöld
- Kofi Annan
- Ralph Bunche
Show answer
Dag Hammarskjöld. Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden was the second Secretary-General of the UN. He died in a plane crash in September 1961 in what is now Zambia, and the prize was awarded posthumously.
- In 1964, at the age of 35, who became the youngest man ever to have received the Peace Prize up to that time?
- Desmond Tutu
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Albert Lutuli
- Nelson Mandela
Show answer
Martin Luther King Jr.. King led the non-violent campaign for civil rights for Black Americans. When he was told he had won, he said he would give the prize money to the civil rights movement.
- Norman Borlaug, an American plant scientist working in Mexico, won the 1970 prize for helping to start what?
- The Industrial Revolution
- The Blue Revolution
- The Green Revolution
- The Digital Revolution
Show answer
The Green Revolution. Borlaug developed a robust dwarf wheat in Mexico, and in the mid-1960s it was introduced into India and Pakistan, where production increased enormously. He always said he was only part of a team.
- Mother Teresa, who won in 1979, was born in Skopje. In which Indian city did she found the Missionaries of Charity and spend most of her life?
- Calcutta (Kolkata)
- Delhi
- Chennai
- Mumbai
Show answer
Calcutta (Kolkata). Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in what is now North Macedonia, she led the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta and died there in 1997. The prize honoured her 'work for bringing help to suffering humanity'.
- Desmond Tutu, an Anglican bishop, won the 1984 prize for his role in the peaceful campaign against what system?
- The caste system in India
- Slavery in the Caribbean
- Colonial rule in Kenya
- Apartheid in South Africa
Show answer
Apartheid in South Africa. Tutu was Bishop of Johannesburg when he won. Like Albert Lutuli before him, he was honoured for non-violent opposition to apartheid.
- Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who won in 1986, wrote a famous autobiographical book about his time in the camps. What is it called?
- The Long Road
- Never Again
- Dawn at Last
- Night
Show answer
Night. Wiesel was born in Sighet, Romania, and was deported to Auschwitz as a teenager. The Nobel Committee called him 'a messenger to mankind' with a message of peace, atonement and dignity.
- The 14th Dalai Lama, awarded the prize in 1989, has lived since 1960 in a town in which country?
- Nepal
- Switzerland
- India (Dharamsala)
- Bhutan
Show answer
India (Dharamsala). He was born in Taktser in Tibet and went into exile in India after the Chinese military occupation of Tibet. The prize recognised his call for peaceful solutions based on tolerance and mutual respect.
- Rigoberta Menchú Tum, who won in 1992, is a leader for the rights of Indigenous peoples in which country?
- Mexico
- Peru
- Guatemala
- Bolivia
Show answer
Guatemala. She was born in 1959 to a poor peasant family and raised in the Quiché branch of Maya culture. The prize honoured her struggle for social justice and reconciliation based on respect for Indigenous peoples' rights.
- In 1993 Nelson Mandela shared the prize with the president who had freed him from prison. Who was that president?
- Albert Lutuli
- Desmond Tutu
- Kenneth Kaunda
- F. W. de Klerk
Show answer
F. W. de Klerk. Mandela had spent years on Robben Island and elsewhere before his release in 1990. He and de Klerk were honoured for agreeing on a peaceful transition from apartheid to majority rule.
- Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Peace Prize, is remembered for her Green Belt Movement. What did it encourage people to do?
- Plant trees
- Collect seeds for export
- Dig wells
- Build schools
Show answer
Plant trees. Born in Nyeri, Kenya, Maathai encouraged women to plant trees and care for their local environment. The movement spread to other African countries and helped to plant over thirty million trees.
- Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh shared the 2006 prize with the Grameen Bank he founded. What did the bank make famous?
- Free school lunches
- Small loans to poor people (microcredit)
- Solar panels for villages
- Cheap fishing boats
Show answer
Small loans to poor people (microcredit). After Bangladesh's famine of 1974, Yunus began giving loans to people who wanted to start small enterprises, and he set up Grameen Bank in 1983. The prize honoured efforts to create economic and social development 'from below'.
- At what age did Malala Yousafzai become the youngest person ever to receive a Nobel Prize, in 2014?
- 14
- 17
- 19
- 21
Show answer
17. Born in Mingora, Pakistan, Malala spoke up for girls' right to go to school. She shared the prize with Kailash Satyarthi of India.
- Kailash Satyarthi, who shared the 2014 prize, is an Indian campaigner against which problem?
- Famine
- Child labour
- Illiteracy among adults only
- Air pollution
Show answer
Child labour. Born in Vidisha, India, Satyarthi's movement Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save Childhood Movement) has freed tens of thousands of children from exploitation, according to the Nobel Prize biography.
- The 1997 prize went to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and which American coordinator?
- Emily Greene Balch
- Betty Williams
- Shirin Ebadi
- Jody Williams
Show answer
Jody Williams. The campaign was founded in 1992. Jody Williams and the coalition worked for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines.
- Médecins Sans Frontières won in 1999. By what English name is this medical aid organisation also known?
- Doctors Without Borders
- World Clinics
- Red Cross International
- Healers United
Show answer
Doctors Without Borders. It was founded in Paris in 1971 as an independent, neutral and impartial emergency aid organisation. The prize recognised its pioneering humanitarian work on several continents.
- Kofi Annan shared the 2001 prize with the United Nations. In which present-day country was he born?
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Senegal
- Nigeria
Show answer
Ghana. Annan was born in Kumasi, then part of the Gold Coast, and became the UN Secretary-General. The prize honoured work for a better organised and more peaceful world.
- Former US president Jimmy Carter, who won in 2002, founded which organisation after leaving office?
- The World Bank
- The Peace Corps
- The Red Crescent
- The Carter Center
Show answer
The Carter Center. After his term as 39th president, Carter founded The Carter Center at Emory University in Atlanta. He and his wife Rosalynn also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.
- Shirin Ebadi, who won in 2003, was one of the first female judges in which country, and the first woman from the Islamic world to win the Peace Prize?
- Turkey
- Pakistan
- Iran
- Egypt
Show answer
Iran. After the 1979 revolution she was dismissed as a judge, opened a legal practice and defended people who were being persecuted. The prize recognised her work for the rights of women and children.
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a 2011 winner, is described by the Nobel Prize site as Africa's first female democratically elected what?
- Chief justice
- Prime minister
- Head of state
- University president
Show answer
Head of state. She became President of Liberia. She shared the prize with two other women, Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakkol Karman of Yemen.
- Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni journalist, was the first woman from which part of the world to win the Peace Prize?
- The Arab world
- South America
- Central Asia
- The Pacific
Show answer
The Arab world. She shared the 2011 prize for non-violent efforts to promote the safety of women and women's rights to take full part in peace-building.
- Dr Denis Mukwege won in 2018 for helping women survivors of sexual violence at the hospital he set up in 2008. In which country is it?
- Rwanda
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Zambia
- Uganda
Show answer
Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mukwege trained as a gynaecologist and established Panzi Hospital in Bukavu. He and his staff have treated thousands of women survivors.
- Nadia Murad, who shared the 2018 prize, is a survivor from which community in northern Iraq?
- The Kurds of Syria
- The Yazidis
- The Armenians
- The Bedouin
Show answer
The Yazidis. She grew up in the village of Kojo. After militants attacked it in 2014, she became a voice for survivors and for ending sexual violence as a weapon of war.
- The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won in 2017. In which country was it founded in 2007?
- Norway
- Japan
- Australia
- Switzerland
Show answer
Australia. The Nobel Prize site lists ICAN as founded in 2007 in Australia. The prize honoured its work on the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.
- Which scientist won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 and the Peace Prize in 1962, the only person to win two undivided Nobel Prizes?
- Otto Hahn
- Linus Pauling
- Albert Einstein
- Marie Curie
Show answer
Linus Pauling. Pauling won the Peace Prize for his opposition to the nuclear arms race. Marie Curie also won twice, but in physics and chemistry; Pauling's two prizes were both unshared.
- In 1950 Ralph Bunche became the first African American to win the Peace Prize. What did he do?
- Led a march in Selma
- Wrote a charter for the League of Nations
- Arranged a ceasefire between Israelis and Arabs
- Founded the Red Cross in America
Show answer
Arranged a ceasefire between Israelis and Arabs. Bunche was acting mediator in Palestine in 1948 to 1949, after the previous mediator was killed. He helped to arrange the ceasefire.
- In 1976 Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan started a peace movement after three children were killed in which city?
- Dublin
- Glasgow
- Cardiff
- Belfast
Show answer
Belfast. Williams witnessed the tragedy and decided to act. They founded what became the Community of Peace People, and they received the prize in 1977 for the 1976 award.
- Andrei Sakharov, called the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, won in 1975 for what cause?
- Human rights and disarmament
- Space exploration
- Free trade
- Chemical safety
Show answer
Human rights and disarmament. The Soviet authorities refused to let him travel to Oslo, so his wife, Yelena Bonner, collected the prize for him.
- Lech Wałęsa, who won in 1983, had been an electrician at which shipyard before leading the Solidarity trade union?
- The Mazagon Dock in Mumbai
- The Kiel yard in Germany
- The Harland and Wolff yard in Belfast
- The Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk
Show answer
The Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk. Fired for demanding independent trade unions, Wałęsa led negotiations with the authorities. The prize honoured his non-violent struggle for free unions and human rights in Poland.
- Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, who won in 1980, was trained as an architect and sculptor. Which country is he from?
- Argentina
- Spain
- Peru
- Chile
Show answer
Argentina. Born in Buenos Aires in 1931, he gave up teaching in 1974 to work full time for human rights. The prize recognised him as a source of inspiration to repressed people, especially in Latin America.
- Óscar Arias Sánchez won the 1987 prize while serving as president of which country, for his work for peace in Central America?
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Costa Rica
- Panama
Show answer
Costa Rica. Arias worked on a peace plan to help end wars in the region. The Nobel Committee honoured his work for 'lasting peace in Central America'.
- Physicist Joseph Rotblat withdrew from the Manhattan Project in 1943. Which conferences, co-winners of his 1995 prize, did he help found?
- The Geneva Conventions
- Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
- The Locarno Meetings
- The Bandung Conference
Show answer
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Rotblat, born in Warsaw, became a leading voice for reducing the part nuclear arms play in international politics. He shared the prize with the Pugwash organisation.
- The 1998 prize went to John Hume and David Trimble for their work towards peace in which region?
- Northern Ireland
- Cyprus
- The Basque Country
- Kashmir
Show answer
Northern Ireland. In 1998 Northern Ireland's main parties signed what became known as the Good Friday Agreement. Hume and Trimble were at the heart of the efforts.
- The 2005 prize went to Mohamed ElBaradei and the agency he led. Which agency, founded in Vienna in 1957?
- Interpol
- UNESCO
- World Health Organization
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Show answer
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA and its director general were honoured for efforts to prevent nuclear energy being used for military purposes, and to make sure that peaceful nuclear energy is used as safely as possible.
- Juan Manuel Santos, who won in 2016, was president of which country when he worked to end a civil war of more than 50 years?
- Brazil
- Ecuador
- Colombia
- Venezuela
Show answer
Colombia. Santos had first stepped up the war against the FARC guerrillas, then surprised many by seeking peace talks. The prize recognised his resolute efforts.
- Narges Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 prize while imprisoned in Evin prison in which country?
- Syria
- Iran
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
Show answer
Iran. Born in Zanjan, she had fought for women's rights and human rights for over twenty years. The Nobel Prize site calls her a champion of equality and women's rights.
- The 2024 prize went to Nihon Hidankyo, an organisation of survivors of which events?
- The Tokyo earthquake of 1923
- The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- The Pacific tsunami of 2004
- The Chernobyl accident
Show answer
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The survivors are known as Hibakusha. The prize honoured their witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.
- The World Food Programme won in 2020 for combating what?
- Malaria
- Hunger
- Illiteracy
- Air pollution
Show answer
Hunger. The prize recognised its efforts to fight hunger and to prevent hunger being used as a weapon of war and conflict. It was founded in 1961.
- Which humanitarian organisation has won the Peace Prize three times, in 1917, 1944 and 1963?
- UNICEF
- Médecins Sans Frontières
- International Committee of the Red Cross
- Amnesty International
Show answer
International Committee of the Red Cross. The Red Cross was started by Henry Dunant, the first Peace laureate. In 1963 the prize was shared with the League of Red Cross Societies.
- Emily Greene Balch shared the 1946 prize. Which international women's organisation had she helped lead?
- Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
- Red Cross Youth
- Soroptimist Australia
- Girl Guides International
Show answer
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Balch was an American professor of history and sociology who became honorary international president of the league. The prize recognised her lifelong work for peace.
- John Boyd Orr, a Scottish physician and nutrition scientist, won in 1949. Which UN agency is he called the father of?
- International Labour Organization
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- World Health Organization
- UNICEF
Show answer
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Boyd Orr argued that many Britons were malnourished because incomes were too low. He was honoured for his lifelong effort to conquer hunger and want.
- René Cassin, the 1968 winner, was the driving force behind the UN commission that drew up which document?
- The Geneva Convention on Refugees
- The Kyoto Protocol
- The Treaty of Locarno
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Show answer
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Cassin was a French jurist. Article 1 of the 1948 declaration begins: all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
- Maria Ressa, who shared the 2021 prize, co-founded which Philippine news site?
- Rappler
- Daily Mail
- The Hindu
- Al Jazeera
Show answer
Rappler. Ressa is an investigative journalist who exposed abuse of power. She shared the prize with Dmitry Muratov of Russia for efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.
- How many times was the Nobel Peace Prize awarded between 1901 and 2026, according to the Nobel Prize website?
- 126
- 107
- 144
- 113
Show answer
107. The site counts 107 prizes shared among 144 laureates (113 individuals and 31 organisations). The number of prizes is lower than the number of years because the prize was not awarded in some years.
- Navi Pillay, the 2026 laureate, was born in Durban. She served as president of the international tribunal for which country, and later as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights?
- Sierra Leone
- Cambodia
- Rwanda
- Bosnia
Show answer
Rwanda. She became a judge and President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. The 2026 prize honours her efforts to promote peace and international law.
- Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 laureate, was honoured for her work promoting democratic rights in which country?
- Venezuela
- Colombia
- Argentina
- Cuba
Show answer
Venezuela. The prize recognised her struggle for a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.