Russia, Belarus, Swedish far-right leader not invited to Nobel Prize ceremony

STOCKHOLM — The head of Sweden's far-right party is the country's only party leader not invited to this year's glittering Nobel Prize ceremony, while the Russian and Belarusian envoys will not be welcome either, organizers said Tuesday.

Jimmie Akesson's anti-immigration and nationalist Sweden Democrats, long seen as pariahs on the political scene, were the big winners in a September general election, taking 20.5 percent of votes to become the country's second-biggest party and a key ally of the new right-wing government.

While not in government, the party is now a key player, heavily influencing the new government's program with crackdowns on crime and immigration, and providing it with a majority to oust the Social Democrats after eight years in power.

But despite reaching such high levels of power, Akesson will—like in previous years—still not receive an invitation to the glitzy bash on December 10 honoring this year's laureates.

The Nobel Foundation, which organizes the ceremony, said the prize was "based on respect for science, culture, humanism and internationalism."

"This year, the board of the Nobel Foundation has seen no reason to reconsider its earlier decision not to invite the party leader of the Sweden Democrats to the Nobel festivities," it wrote in a statement.

The ceremony is held each year in Stockholm on December 10 when the laureates in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics receive their awards from King Carl XVI Gustaf, followed by a gala banquet for around 1,200 guests.

A separate ceremony is held in Oslo on the same day for the Peace Prize laureate.

The Nobel Foundation also usually invites ambassadors stationed in Sweden to the event, but this year the Russian and Belarusian envoys will not be welcome.

"In view of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Foundation has chosen not to invite the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus to the Nobel Prize award ceremony," it said.

This year's Nobel Peace Prize went to a Belarusian activist, a Russian rights group, and a Ukrainian civil liberties organization, honored as "three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence." — Agence France-Presse