NATO wins 2026 International Peace of Westphalia award

The NATO military alliance has been named the recipient of the 2026 International Peace of Westphalia Award, DPA reported.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will accept the award on behalf of the transatlantic defense alliance at a ceremony in Münster City Hall, organizers in the western German city announced, CE Report quotes BTA.

The award takes its name from the two peace treaties signed in 1648, which ended a series of wars in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648.

Previous recipients of the biennial prize, awarded by the Economic Society for Westphalia and Lippe (WWL), include former German chancellors Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt, the crew of the International Space Station (ISS), King Abdullah II of Jordan, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The late Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer received a special award in 2025.

“In times of global uncertainty, NATO creates trust, promotes partnership, and ensures peace through stability,” said WWL chairman Reinhard Zinkann.

“Under Mark Rutte’s leadership, the alliance demonstrates that military strength and the preservation of peace are not contradictory but mutually dependent,” Zinkann added.