The Norwegian Nobel Committee Corina has decided to award the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Corina Machado for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
She had become a symbol of resistance in the face of growing authoritarianism in Venezuela, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The opposition leader was forced into hiding and banned from running for office by the administration of President Nicolas Maduro. But her fearless campaigns and rock-star appeal have made her an incredibly popular politician in her country – and led her to beat US President Donald Trump in winning this year’s award.
The opposition leader was forced into hiding and banned from running for office by the administration of President Nicolas Maduro. But her fearless campaigns and rock-star appeal have made her an incredibly popular politician in her country – and led her to beat US President Donald Trump in winning this year’s award.
When her win was announced on Friday, the activist was lauded for being a “key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government”.
Jorgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, added: “In the past year, Miss Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”
Machado, a 58-year-old industrial engineer, was born in Caracas on 7 October 1967, the eldest of the four daughters of a psychologist and steel businessman, as well as a descendant of the 3rd Marquis of Toro.
Now a mother of three children, Machado went on to study industrial engineering at university, before gaining a master’s degree in finance.
In 1992, she started a foundation for orphaned children living on the streets of Caracas called Fundación Atenea. But she was forced to leave her role there when she co-founded the vote-monitoring organisation Súmate a decade later, to prevent the foundation from becoming politicised.
Súmate marked Machado’s official entry into politics. She went on to become the National Coordinator of the liberal political party Vente Venezuela, which she founded in 2012. From 2011 to 2014, she served as a member of the National Assembly of Venezuela.
Her choice is likely to enrage US President Donald Trump who had lobbied extensively for the award. Althoughike Trump, Machado is a strong supporter of the Israeli crackdown on the Palestinians, which has angered other activists.
Michael Medbed 🇲🇾🇸🇬🇵🇸🇫🇷 @real91toph, wrote on X: “Instead of giving the Nobel Peace Prize to the journalists of Gaza and/or Sumud Flotilla Activists like Greta Thunberg, The so-called “Nobel Peace Prize” is given instead to a Venezuelan MAGA Zionist. What a fucking joke”.
