In 1901, a man (Jean henri Dunant) received the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE for the first time; from this moment, someone receives it every year, but I will talk only about the last two.
Every year, the ceremony takes place in Oslo.
2009
The President of United States of America, Barack Obama, received the Nobel Peace Prize with 1,4 million dollars only ten months after becoming President. He was the third American President that received this prize, but he was the first afroamerican president who received it.
The committee of Oslo decided to assign it to him for these reasons:
==> his commitment to make a world without nuclear weapons.
In effect, he asks the nuclear disarmament and he is working to restart peace's negotiations in Middle East. So, he's trying to do some very important things for us, he's in the centre of our attention and we hope in a better world.
He received 1,4 million dollars with the Nobel prize, but he gave this money in charity.
2010
This year, the commettee of Oslo assigned the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, (who's Chinese and ex university teacher of litterature) because there is a connection between human rights and peace in the world.
Today he's in prison because he's a dissident; he was one of the 300 men that signed the "Charta 08" and he diffused it. In this document they asked some politics reforms like the liberty of religion, printing and reunion.
Liu Xiaobo today is in prison: he sacrificed his liberty to defend his ideas and convinctions.
==> He supported the "war" for democracy, human and civilian rights;
==> He took part in the protest of Tiananman in 1989.
He was accused for getting over the consented limits of expression's liberty. He defended himself saying that his intentions were peace-related but he was condamned so, now, he must stay in prison for 11 years.
The organisations of defence of human rights, and western countries too, reported his sentence. Also Obama, asked China if he could be released.