Peer Gynt Prize

Peer Gynt Prize
The Peer Gynt Prize or the Peer Gynt Award (Årets Peer Gynt or Per Gynt-prisen) is a private Norwegian prize presented annually by the private commercial company Peer Gynt AS during the Peer Gynt Festival, also organised by the same company. The Peer Gynt Prize is named after the main character in Peer Gynt (1867), a five-act play in verse by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. The prize is awarded to people or institutions who have marked themselves in a positive way nationally and internationally. However, the prize has received criticism for misrepresenting the Peer Gynt character, who is portrayed in Ibsen's play as quintessentially immoral and selfish.
The Peer Gynt Prize has been awarded every year since 1971. The recipient of the annual prize is chosen by the private company Peer Gynt AS and is given to a person or institution that has achieved distinction in society and contributed to improving Norway's international reputation in the company's view. It was first awarded to Einar Gerhardsen for his efforts as prime minister in rebuilding the country after World War II.
Members of the Peer Gynt Festival itself, parliamentary representatives and former winners of the year's Peer Gynt prize may propose candidates for the award. Former award-winners form a network connected to the Peer Gynt Festival. The award is a bronze statuette of Peer Gynt riding a reindeer buck (Peer Gynt-statuetten), made by artist Carl Bilgrei.
The Peer Gynt Prize award ceremony takes place during the Peer Gynt Festival (Peer Gynt-stemnet) at Vinstra in Gudbrandsdalen, one of Norway's leading festivals. Peer Gynt Festival is a 12-day cultural festival that takes place in the beginning of August each year. The first Festival was held in 1928, for the centennial of Henrik Ibsen's birth.
Prize winners
1971: Einar Gerhardsen, former Prime Minister
1972: Per Aabel, actor
1973: Liv Ullmann, actress
1974: Erik Bye, singer and artist
1975: Erling Stordahl, singer and advocate for disabled persons
1976: Øivind Bergh, conductor
1977: Birgit and Rolf Sunnaas, founders of Sunnaas Hospital
1978: Arve Tellefsen, violinist
1979: Grete Waitz, marathon runner
1980: Anne-Cath. Vestly, author
1981: Cato Zahl Pedersen, disabled sportsperson
1982: Jens Evensen, diplomat, lawyer and politician
1983: Thorbjørn Egner, author and artist
1984: Crown Princess Sonja
1985: Bobbysocks, winners of the Eurovision Song Contest
1986: Annie Skau Berntsen, nurse and missionary
1987: a-ha, musical group
1988: Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
1989: Norwegian Olympic Committee, Ole Sjetne
1990: Thorvald Stoltenberg, politician and United Nations official
1991: Hans-Wilhelm Steinfeld, journalist
1992: Bjørn Dæhlie and Vegard Ulvang, cross-country skiers
1993: Kjetil André Aamodt, alpine skier
1994: Mona Juul and Terje Rød Larsen, diplomats
1995: Johann Olav Koss, speed skater and founder of Right To Play
1996: Jostein Gaarder, author
1997: Gro Harlem Brundtland, United Nations official and former Prime Minister
1998: Norway women's national handball team, Marit Breivik
1999: Thor Heyerdahl, ethnographer and adventurer
2000: Bellona Foundation environmental organization
2001: Knut Vollebæk, politician and diplomat
2002: Eva Joly, lawyer against corruption
2003: Åsne Seierstad, journalist and author
2004: Arne Næss, philosopher and mountaineer
2005: Jan Egeland, diplomat and United Nations official
2006: Kjell Inge Røkke, entrepreneur
2007: Leif Ove Andsnes, pianist
2008: Snøhetta AS, international architecture company
2009: Ole Gunnar Solskjær, footballer and UNICEF ambassador
2010: Dissimilis Norway
2011: Magnus Carlsen, chess player
2012: Marit Bjørgen and Jens Stoltenberg
2013: Jo Nesbø, author and musician
2014: Norway Cup, one of the world's largest football tournaments
2015: May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser, scientists and Nobel Prize winners in 2014
2016: Deeyah Khan, film director, music producer, composer and human rights defender.
2017: Julie Andem, director, screenwriter and television producer
2018: Elisabeth Hoff, nurse, humanitarian aid worker in Syria 2012–2019
2019: Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund Svindal, alpine skiers
2020: Maja Lunde, author
2021: Birgit Skarstein, paralympic athlete
2022: Maren Lundby, ski jumper
References
External links
The Peer Gynt Festival Official website
Norwegian awards
Awards established in 1971
Peer Gynt