On 8 December 2017, Inger Skjelsbæk, Research Professor at PRIO and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Oslo, was appointed by the Norwegian Parliament as a deputy member of the Nobel Committee in Norway. The Nobel Committee selects the recipients of the annual Nobel Peace Prize.
A psychologist by training, Skjelsbæk is a world-leading expert on sexual violence in war, and more broadly on gender-related aspects of conflict. She has been a researcher at PRIO for 20 years, serving as PRIO's Deputy Director from 2009 to 2015. She currently leads the research project 'Equal Peace? Women's Empowerment and Multicultural Challenges in War-to-Peace Transitions'.
Skjelsbæk was nominated to the Nobel Committee by the Norwegian Socialist Left Party. PRIO is pleased to see an increased tendency for Norwegian political parties to nominate researchers and other specialists to the committee, rather than former politicians only. PRIO has long argued for the importance of strengthening the competence and independence of the committee. "We are very proud of this public recognition of Inger Skjelsbæk’s expertise and contributions, and appreciate the competence that she can bring to the Nobel committee", says PRIO Director Henrik Urdal.
