Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was the first Norwegian Nobel Laureate in which category?

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (1861 – 1930) was a Norwegian scientist, polar hero, political activist, diplomat and humanitarian. He was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.

Prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901 and economic sciences since 1968. The presentation ceremony for the Peace Prize is held in Oslo, Norway.

Nansen was a nationalist activist when Norway broke out of its union with Sweden in 1905.

In 1922, he became the first High Commissioner for Refugees appointed by the League of Nations.

After WWI, he was in charge of the exchanges of 400,000 prisoners of war between Russia, Germany, and the former Austria-Hungary. Nansen also engaged in humanitarian relief work in 1921, during the severe famine in the Soviet Union. His work on behalf of prisoners of war and starving people earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

After 1922, the League of Nations provided "Nansen passports" to stateless refugees to enable them to cross national borders. Nansen was himself made responsible for separating Greeks and Turks after the war between the two countries. In the last years of his life, he took up the Armenian cause.

During WWI, the Allies had encouraged the Armenians to rebel against the Turks. This resulted in the tragic genocide of one million Armenians. Nansen campaigned for the establishment of a home for Armenian refugees from Turkey on the Soviet side of the border.