“Alfred Nobel dreamed of a better world. And in many ways, the world has become a better place since he wrote his will in the late 19th century. Thanks to scientific, cultural, and economic developments, more people have the opportunity to fulfil themselves and live long, rich lives. Scientific achievements have not only made new technologies possible; they have also given us a deeper understanding of how everything in our universe functions – from the stars to the cells of our bodies. Cultural advances have lessened the impact of prejudice and tradition. Economic growth has laid the groundwork for technological and social progress as well as material wealth. We now have societies where people are able to live the lives they desire to a degree the world has never seen before.”
From the opening address at the Nobel Prize award ceremony on December 10, 2017, delivered by Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin, Chairman of the Nobel Foundation.
The Nobel Foundation, located in Stockholm, Sweden, is a private institution established in 1900 that manages Alfred Nobel’s fortune to support the Nobel Prizes. Its primary mission is to manage Nobel’s assets to ensure the long-term financial stability of the prizes and to safeguard the independence of the prize-awarding institutions that select the laureates. The Foundation also works to strengthen the Nobel Prize brand, represent the Nobel organisation, and promote its values through various outreach activities to share knowledge and inspire future generations.
Alfred Nobel’s will, written in 1895, was the single most decisive factor in shaping the Nobel Foundation’s structure and purpose. In his will, he dictated that nearly all his remaining estate be invested in safe securities to create a fund whose interest would annually finance prizes for those who conferred the “greatest benefit to humankind.” He specified not only the prize fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace, but also the exact institutions awarding the prizes, stipulating independence from personal or national bias.
The Nobel Foundation was founded in 1900, four years after Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel died in Sanremo, Italy. The institution was set up primarily to invest his fortune and to manage the intangible value of the Nobel Prize. While the first task remains basically the same after more than a century, the second has grown in importance as the prize has accumulated prestige over the years. Furthermore, the Foundation ensures the independence of the academic institutions that nominate Nobel Prize laureates, and organises the prize ceremony and the Nobel festivities in December.
Alfred Nobel also appointed the executors of the will, whose duty was to establish an organisation for the prize. Their task in the subsequent years was to negotiate how this prize was to be set up, with Nobel’s relatives and the Nobel Prize-awarding institutions: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the prizes in Physics and Chemistry, Karolinska Institutet for the prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the Swedish Academy for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Furthermore, a five-person committee was appointed by the Norwegian Parliament to select the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. At the time, Sweden and Norway were a union (1814–1905).
“The Nobel Centre will be a space for dialogue between science, literature, and peace efforts”
The Nobel Foundation’s statutes were approved by Swedish King Oscar II in 1900, defining its administrative and investment duties. Its board consists of representatives chosen by the Nobel Prize-awarding institutions. The Foundation itself does not select laureates. Instead, it manages the prize endowment, handles publicity, and coordinates the annual awards ceremony in Stockholm and Oslo.
The history of the Nobel Foundation can roughly be divided into three phases. The first covers the formative years from 1900 to the 1920s. During this period, there was at first an ambition to make the Foundation a unified institution. However, the prize-awarding institutions were more interested in establishing a close connection with the Nobel institutes, which meant that the Nobel Foundation took on a more administrative and representative role. It focused on the investments and on arranging the prize award ceremony. It was manifest in the plans to build a Nobel Palace where the prize would be awarded. When this proved too expensive, the Foundation settled on holding the ceremony in Stockholm’s new City Hall. It meant a slightly less visible role for the Nobel Foundation, and also made it a more integral part of the public life in Stockholm.
In the second phase, from the 1920s to the 1960s, the Foundation became a funding agency in a way it had not been before or since. At the time the Nobel Institutes were established, the prize-awarding institutions effectively utilised the Nobel funds as a scientific resource. In this way, the Foundation played a significant role in a time when government funding for research did not exist in Sweden. This role waned after World War II, when research councils were set up. Eventually, the Nobel Institutes were either closed or transferred to government ownership, thus ending the second phase in the Foundation’s history.
During the second phase, investing Alfred Nobel’s money remained of utmost importance, as did organising the Nobel Prize festivities. However, during the 1970s and 1990s, the public aspects of the prize became a higher priority for the institution. One of the priorities of this period was to modernise the award ceremony and banquet. It was done through a series of careful steps and culminated in a large jubilee in 1991, when the Nobel Foundation’s 90th anniversary was celebrated with the most ambitious festivities to date. The growing interest in the public image of the Nobel Prize continued in the 1990s, leading to the establishment of the NobelPrize.org website in 1995, the Nobel Museum in 2001, and the media rights entity Nobel Media in 2004.
“Today’s challenges for the Nobel Foundation include addressing mistrust and attacks on science”
From the 1970s to the 1990s, the ceremonies underwent modernisation, and to some extent, media relations also evolved. The period from the mid-1990s to the present has built a new structure for public relations. It accelerated in the 2010s, with plans to create a new Nobel Centre in Stockholm and for Nobel Media to organise international public events.
The Nobel Museum, now renamed the Nobel Prize Museum, has been a presence in Stockholm since 2001, honouring Alfred Nobel, who was born in the city. The museum’s mission is to spread knowledge about the Nobel Prizes and the achievements of its laureates, thereby protecting the prestige of the prize and inspiring people worldwide. In 2004, the Nobel Peace Centre opened in Oslo, tied to an ambitious digital strategy, with the number of social media followers increasing from a few hundred thousand to several million.
Next year marks the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Foundation. One of the most critical projects for the future is the planned construction of a Nobel Centre in Stockholm. In 2031, you will be able to explore the work and the ideas of the laureates in a new public building. The Nobel Centre will be a space for dialogue between science, literature, and peace efforts, brought to life through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, cultural events, and family activities. A part of the centre’s motivation is to create a venue that can accommodate more visitors interested in the Nobel Prize. There was also a deeper purpose: to further and spread the values that the Nobel Prize represents.
Today’s challenges for the Nobel Foundation include addressing mistrust and attacks on science, promoting sustainable and green innovation, ensuring the prizes are inclusive and representing diverse voices, while maintaining relevance in a rapidly changing world, particularly with the rise of AI. The Foundation is also serious about facing the challenges of adapting its ceremonies and traditions to modern circumstances, as the Foundation’s former CEO, Lars Heikensten, put it: “We are in this forever.”
