Navi Pillay Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize as Trump Is Passed Over

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, honoring a decades-long career devoted to international law and human rights, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes announced the decision on Oct. 9, saying the committee recognized Pillay for helping ensure that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted, the Journal reported. USA Today reported that the committee cited her efforts to advance universal legal principles.

A career across international courts

Pillay served earlier as a judge on South Africa’s High Court, on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and on the International Criminal Court, according to the Journal. She later served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

More recently, she chaired a United Nations commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and has sat as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in a genocide case involving Myanmar, the Journal reported.

Trump had campaigned publicly for the prize

The decision bypassed President Donald Trump, who had argued publicly this week that he deserved the award for intervening in conflicts around the world, according to USA Today. Trump told reporters on Oct. 7 that he expected the committee would likely not choose him, while maintaining that he had done more than others to settle wars.

Trump has said he helped resolve eight conflicts, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida is among allies who have said they nominated him, USA Today reported. Four earlier U.S. presidents have received the Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, according to USA Today.

Reporting based on coverage by the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.