On October 10, 2025, María Corina Machado was chosen for the Nobel Peace Prize. As of this year, she is the 20th woman ever to earn the prize. The first woman to earn this prize was Bertha von Suttner in 1902.
In 1967, María Corina Machado was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She is the eldest of 4 daughters. Her dad was a steel-industry businessman, and her mom was a psychologist. She grew up in a conservative Catholic family. She is divorced and has 3 kids.
María has been relentlessly fighting for her home country for countless years. She became an elected member of the National Assembly in 2011 and lost the position after 3 years due to expulsion. Her attempts to contest in the presidential elections also failed, after her name was removed from the ballots many times. She has been in hiding, fearing for her life, simply for fighting for people’s rights. Venezuela is run under Nicolás Maduro, who is considered a dictator. Venezuela has had an authoritarian/dictatorial government since 2013. Her goal was, and still is, to have free and fair elections and establish a democracy for all of Venezuela. Although the government has brought her down multiple times with assault and accusations, her determination proves her worthy of this prize.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, states, “As the leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela, María Corina Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America, in recent times. Miss Machado has been a key unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided. And a position that found common ground in the demand for free election and representative government. This is precisely what lies at the heart of democracy, our shared willingness to defend the principles of popular rule even though we disagree.”