South Africa's Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize

Navanethem “Navi” Pillay was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her work in advancing peace and international law, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced.

Pillay’s career has included defending Nelson Mandela and other opponents of apartheid, as well as serving as a judge in several landmark international court cases, the committee said.

In explaining its decision, the committee pointed to the link between her early legal work against apartheid and her later role in the international justice system.

The Peace Prize is the fifth Nobel award announced this week, following those for medicine, physics, chemistry and literature. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado received the 2025 Peace Prize.

The award carries a cash prize of 12 million Swedish kronor, or around $1.2 million. The presentation ceremony will take place in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. Nobel established the awards in his will in 1895.