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Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute

Nobelförsamlingen vid Karolinska Institutet
Formation	1901 13 March 1978 (as a formal body)
Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden
Membership	50 members
Chairman	Jesper Haeggström
Deputy Chairman	Eva Hellström Lindberg
Website	www.nobelprizemedicine.org

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute is a body at Karolinska Institute that awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. It is headquartered in the Nobel Forum on the grounds of the Karolinska Institute campus. Originally the Nobel Assembly was not a formal body but rather the collective of all professors (holders of chairs, i.e. full professors) at Karolinska Institute. In 1977, the Nobel Assembly became a separate private organization hosted by Karolinska Institute. Until 1984, all Karolinska Institute professors belonged to the Assembly; since 1984, the membership has been restricted to 50 Karolinska Institute professors.

The main work involved in collecting nominations and screening nominees is performed by the Nobel Committee at the Karolinska Institute, which has five members. The Nobel Committee, which is appointed by the Nobel Assembly, is only empowered to recommend laureates, while the final decision rests with the Nobel Assembly.

Background

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was first awarded in 1901. For most of the 20th century the laureates were decided upon by all professors of the Karolinska Institute, collectively sometimes also referred to as the Nobel Assembly. In 1977 the Nobel Assembly was established as a separate private organization. The reason for creating a special formal body for the decisions concerning the Nobel Prize was the fact that the Karolinska Institute is a state-run university, which in turn means that it is subject to various laws that apply to government agencies in Sweden and similar Swedish public sector organisations, such as freedom of information legislation. By moving the actual decision making to a private body at Karolinska Institute (but not part of it), it is possible to follow the regulations for the Nobel Prize set down by the Nobel Foundation, including keeping the confidentiality of all documents and proceedings for a minimum of 50 years. Also, the legal possibility of contesting the decisions in e.g. administrative courts is removed. Until 1984 all professors at Karolinska Institute were members of the Assembly, but in 1984 the membership was restricted to 50 Karolinska professors.

The other two Nobel Prize-awarding bodies in Sweden, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Academy, are legally private organisations (although enjoying royal patronage), and have therefore not had to make any special arrangements to be able to follow the Nobel Foundation's regulations.

References

1. Karolinska Institutet: Nobelpriset - den ärofyllda traditionen, accessed on August 3, 2009 (in Swedish)
2. Nobelprize.org: Prize Awarder for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on August 3, 2009

v t e Nobel Prizes
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Prizes	Chemistry Economics Literature Peace Physics Physiology or Medicine
Laureates	by occupation Heads of state and government by year by subject Chemistry Economics Literature Peace Physics Physiology or Medicine by population group Bengali Black Christian Female Jewish Latin American Muslim Non-religious by continent and nationality African Egyptian South African Asian Chinese Filipino Indian Israeli Japanese Korean Pakistani Vietnamese European Belgian Danish German Greek Hungarian Irish Italian Polish Romanian Russian Spanish Swedish Swiss Welsh Oceanian Australian North American American Mexican South American Argentine Brazilian Venezuelan by university City University of New York Columbia University ETH Zurich Harvard University Princeton University Washington University in St. Louis
Nominees	Catholic priests and religious Couples Women by subject Chemistry Economics Literature Peace Individuals Organizations Physics Physiology or Medicine by groups Peace AFSC Nobel nominees PRIO Director's Shortlist by Clarivate Female Chemistry Economics Physics Physiology or Medicine
Organisations	Nobel Foundation Nobel Committees Chemistry Economics Literature Physics Physiology or Medicine Norwegian Nobel Committee Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute
Related	Controversies Alfred Nobel Björkborn Manor Nobel Laboratory Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates Prizes known as the "Nobel" of their fields
Nobel Memorial Prize (not one of the original Nobel Prizes).

• Karolinska Institute
• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Awards juries and committees