These four US presidents won the Nobel Peace Prize: Which colleges did they go to?
The Nobel Peace Prize nominations for 2025 have stirred considerable interest, particularly with the US President Donald Trump’s name among the contenders. Trump has been nominated for the prize, according to multiple international and political figures. On December 11, Representative Claudia Tenney of New York announced that she had nominated Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for their work on the Abraham Accords. The accords, signed in 2020, established formal diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab nations.In addition to Tenney’s nomination, leaders from several countries have also expressed support for Trump’s candidacy. On June 20 2025, Pakistan government announced it would recommend Trump for his diplomatic role during a recent India–Pakistan crisis. Other endorsements reportedly came from Netanyahu in July, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in August, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, who cited Trump’s part in the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. Trump’s nomination leans on claims that he (with Secretary of State Marco Rubio) helped broker a DRC–Rwanda peace deal and cites his role in the Abraham Accords plus attempted de-escalations from India–Pakistan to Egypt–Ethiopia—though, as ever, we don’t yet know who will win this year. For context, four US presidents have won the Peace Prize so far: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama.Nobel Prize winning American presidents and their academic qualificationsThese leaders came from diverse academic paths but shared a commitment to international cooperation that earned them one of the world’s most prestigious honours. The four US presidents who have received the Nobel Peace Prize share a strong academic background from some of the most prestigious institutions in the country. Here is a look at their presidential tenures, year of Nobel recognition, and the institutes they studied in.
Theodore Roosevelt: Harvard-educated reformer and mediatorTheodore Roosevelt, born on October 27, 1858, in New York City, was a member of the Republican Party. He served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt studied at Harvard University, where he graduated with distinction before briefly attending Columbia Law School.He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War. His nomination was submitted by the Norwegian politician Carl Christian Berner. Roosevelt was the first American to receive a Nobel Prize of any kind. He died on January 6, 1919, at his home in Oyster Bay, New York.Woodrow Wilson: Princeton scholar and League of Nations founderWoodrow Wilson, born on December 28, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia, was a Democrat and the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He graduated from Princeton University and later earned a PhD in political science from Johns Hopkins University, becoming the only U.S. president to hold a doctorate.Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for founding the League of Nations, which aimed to secure international peace following the First World War. He was nominated by the Norwegian Nobel Committee itself. Wilson suffered a stroke while in office and died on February 3, 1924, in Washington, D.C.Jimmy Carter: Naval officer and advocate for human rightsJames Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr., born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, was a Democrat and served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1946, where he trained as a naval officer before entering politics.He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of work promoting peaceful conflict resolution, democracy, and human rights through the Carter Center. The Norwegian Nobel Committee nominated and selected him for the award. On December 29, 2024, Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, the 76th governor of Georgia, and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his post-presidential work, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, after nearly two years in hospice care.Barack Obama: Columbia and Harvard alumnus recognised for diplomacyBarack Hussein Obama II, born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a member of the Democratic Party. He served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Obama studied at Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University, where he completed a degree in political science. He later earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review.Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. His nomination was submitted by the Norwegian Parliament’s Nobel Committee shortly after he assumed office. Obama is alive and remains active in global initiatives through the Obama Foundation, focusing on leadership development and civic engagement.
