| Nomination for Nobel Peace Prize |
| Year: | 1923 |
| Number: | 16 - 1 |
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Nominee:
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| Name: | Fridtjof Nansen |
| Gender: | M |
| Year, Birth: | 1861 |
| Year, Death: | 1930 |
| Profession: | Arctic explorer, professor of oceanography, and diplomat. High commissioner for refugees of the League of Nations. |
| University: | Kristiania University |
| City: | Kristiania (now Oslo) |
| Country: | NORWAY (NO) |
| Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1922 |
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| Motivation: | Nansen was nominated for his humanitarian work after World War I. He organized programs for the repatriation of prisoners of war from Russia and Siberia. The Soviet government did not recognize the League of Nations, but it was willing to work with Nansen. He initiated the Nansen Passport for Refugees, and he was Norwegian delegate to the League of Nations. The League appointed him High Commissioner for Refugees in 1921. The same year the Red Cross asked him to organize a relief program to famine-stricken Russia. The League of Nations turned down his request for financial assistance, because strong anti-bolshevik feelings in the League made its approval impossible. Nansen had to organize relief to Russia outside the League, but he received assistance from Herbert Hoover's American Relief Administration, the Society of Friends and others. |
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Nominator:
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| Name: | James Vallotton |
| Gender: | M |
| Profession: | Lawyer. Member of the Institute of International Law. |
| City: | Lausanne |
| Country: | SWITZERLAND (CH) |
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| Comments: |
The nominator also suggested Ligue internationale philarménienne and the Greek Red Cross, but Nansen was his primary choice. |
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