10 Controversial People Who Won the Nobel Peace Prize

10 Controversial People Who Won the Nobel Peace Prize

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at ten highly controversial figures who won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Elihu Root (1912)

Receiving the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize for his work, Elihu Root advanced international law and was instrumental in advocating for and shaping judicial tribunals. On paper, he was a pioneer of diplomacy over conflict, and world peace seemed within reach. But before that, Root served as U.S. Secretary of War, helping to modernize the American military and overseeing the bloody occupation of the Philippines - a campaign marked by numerous atrocities against innocent civilians. Critics argue that Root’s award honored an empire-builder disguised as a peacemaker and rewarded the man who made American expansionism more efficient. His legacy highlights the early Nobel Committee’s blind spot - mistaking polite diplomacy for genuine peace.

Cordell Hull (1945)

U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull was celebrated for helping found the United Nations and shaping the international order following the chaos of World War II. His 1945 Peace Prize recognized that vision, but his record tells a different story. Just a few years earlier, in 1939, Hull personally advised Franklin D. Roosevelt to deny asylum to Jewish refugees aboard the SS St. Louis, forcing hundreds back toward Nazi Europe. Many of these abandoned refugees later perished in the Holocaust. Supporters credit Hull for promoting global cooperation, yet critics argue that his humanitarian failure made him unworthy of a peace prize. The stark contrast between his diplomatic achievements and his sheer moral blindness remains one of the Nobel Committee’s most glaring misjudgments.

Mother Teresa (1979)

Canonized as a saint and revered by millions around the world, Mother Teresa received the 1979 prize for her humanitarian work with the poor in Calcutta. She was hailed as the embodiment of selflessness - but her legacy isn’t without controversy. Later investigations revealed unsanitary conditions in her clinics, minimal to nonexistent medical care, and an emphasis on suffering as “beautiful.” Teresa also accepted donations from corrupt dictators and staunchly opposed abortion and contraception, earning criticism from secular and feminist groups alike. To admirers, she brought dignity to the dying. To detractors, she romanticized poverty and pain.

Woodrow Wilson (1919)

American President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after the first World War for creating the League of Nations, the world’s first attempt at a lasting system of collective security. Sounds great. His Fourteen Points inspired a new vision for global diplomacy, but Wilson’s idealism hid deep hypocrisy. At home, he re-segregated federal offices, screened the deeply racist “The Birth of a Nation” at the White House, and supported many bigoted policies. Even on the international stage, his calls for “self-determination” excluded colonized peoples. Wilson was a prophet of peace, but he was also a white supremacist whose vision was deeply selective. This is classic political hypocrisy at work -progressive abroad, regressive at home.

Menachem Begin & Anwar Sadat (1978)

In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin both won the Nobel Peace Prize for the Camp David Accords - groundbreaking framework agreements that led to peace between their respective countries. It was hailed as a triumph of diplomacy, but not everyone saw it that way. Sadat’s peace deal infuriated much of the Arab world and led to his assassination just a few years later in 1981. Begin, once a leader of a militant group called the Irgun, faced accusations of using peace as political cover. While the Accords did end decades of direct war, they also left the Palestinian question completely unresolved. It was a real peace accord, but it was brokered by men with serious blood on their hands.

Theodore Roosevelt (1906)

Teddy became the first American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize, doing so in 1906 after mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War. The committee praised his diplomacy, but the Rough Rider president hardly fit the image of a pacifist. In fact, Roosevelt loved and often glorified warfare, expanding his imperial reach through the Panama Canal and pushing the idea of America’s “civilizing” mission abroad. His famous mantra of “speak softly and carry a big stick” beautifully summarizes his belief that peace can only be enforced through sheer power. Roosevelt won the Peace Prize while extolling the virtues of warfare. The irony is so stark it’s almost comedic.

Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres & Yitzhak Rabin (1994)

The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize went jointly to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres for the Oslo Accords - a historic handshake that symbolized hope for peace in the Middle East. As we all know, that optimism didn’t last long. Violence and mistrust continued, settlements expanded, and the peace process eventually collapsed. Arafat was accused of past terrorism, Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli extremist, and Peres’s later military actions raised more than a few eyebrows. To some, the award was grossly premature, celebrating an imaginary peace that hadn’t yet materialized. An idealistic gamble that aged terribly.

Aung San Suu Kyi (1991)

Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent resistance against Myanmar’s brutal military regime. She spent years under house arrest and became a global icon of democracy and courage, but her reputation eventually imploded. As Myanmar’s civilian leader, Suu Kyi defended the very same military during its campaign of genocide against the Rohingya minority, denying well-documented atrocities and crimes against humanity. Human rights groups accused her of moral betrayal and demanded that her prize be revoked. Once hailed as “the conscience of Asia,” Suu Kyi made a complete 180 from saintly symbol to complicit leader, marking one of the most dramatic reversals in Nobel history.

Abiy Ahmed (2019)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for ending a decades-long conflict with neighboring Eritrea and launching a number of democratic reforms at home. He was hailed as a new face of African peace, but the optimism didn’t last long. Just a year later, Ethiopia plunged into civil war, with Abiy accused of overseeing massacres and famine in the Tigray region. Reports of human rights abuses and horrific ethnic violence tarnished his once-bright image, as he was unanimously vilified on the world stage. The Nobel Committee even admitted that the war “cast shadows” over his award. That’s putting it mildly for what is probably the fastest collapse of Nobel credibility.

Henry Kissinger (1973)

What is unanimously considered the most egregious Nobel Peace Prize went to Henry Kissinger, who won in 1973 for negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam. Even back then, the outrage was immediate. Two Nobel Committee members resigned in protest, and even Kissinger himself refused to attend the ceremony. And wouldn’t you know it, the ceasefire quickly collapsed, and the U.S. continued bombing Cambodia and Laos under his watch. Beyond Vietnam, Kissinger supported coups and authoritarian regimes in Chile, Indonesia, and beyond - all in the name of American “stability.” To some critics, Kissinger was nothing but a war criminal, and his award for peace remains the ultimate symbol of Nobel irony.

Can you think of any further examples? Let us know in the comments below!