One Accepted, One Refused: The Story Of The Most Controversial Nobel Peace Prize

Last Updated:October 16, 2025, 18:11 IST

The only Nobel Peace Prize ever refused, and the one that Henry Kissinger couldn’t return. Here’s the story behind the 1973 award

Henry Kissinger, left, and Le Duc Tho, member of Hanoi’s Politburo, are shown outside a suburban house at Gif Sur Yvette in Paris, June 13, 1973. (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz, File)

Among the many debates surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize over the years, none has matched the intensity and fallout of the 1973 decision. That year, the prestigious award was given jointly to US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese diplomat Le Duc Tho for negotiating the Paris Peace Accords, which aimed to end the Vietnam War.

But while Kissinger accepted the prize, Le Duc Tho became the first, and so far only, laureate in Nobel history to decline the Peace Prize. His refusal marked the beginning of a controversy that triggered resignations within the Nobel Committee, protests in the United States, and enduring criticism of Kissinger’s legacy.

Tho said peace had not been achieved, and accused the US of violating the agreement. For him, the war had not truly ended, and honouring a false peace was out of the question.

Who Was Le Duc Tho And Why Did He Reject The Prize?

Born in 1911 in Nam Dinh Province, Le Duc Tho joined the anti-colonial movement early in life and co-founded the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930. He was imprisoned by French colonial authorities and spent years in jail, including in the notorious ‘tiger cage’ on Poulo Condore Island. After his release in 1945, he became a senior strategist for the Viet Minh, and later joined the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1955.

Between 1969 and 1973, Le Duc Tho led North Vietnam’s negotiations with the United States. His opposite number in the secret and formal talks was Henry Kissinger, then US National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State.

The talks culminated in the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973, a deal that promised a ceasefire and withdrawal of US forces. Days later, Tho was nominated for the Peace Prize by Norwegian academic John Sanness, a member of the Nobel Committee.

But Tho rejected the honour, citing continued violations of the ceasefire by the United States and the South Vietnamese government. In a letter to the Nobel Committee, he wrote: “In these circumstances, it is impossible for me to accept the 1973 Nobel Prize for Peace which the committee has bestowed on me. Once the Paris accord on Vietnam is respected, the arms are silenced and a real peace is established in South Vietnam, I will be able to consider accepting this prize."

He added: “During the last 18 years, the United States undertook a war of aggression against Vietnam. The Vietnamese people have waged a tenacious and heroic struggle against the United States’ aggression for independence and freedom. All of progressive humanity approves and supports this just cause."

When he was interviewed a decade later, Tho said the Nobel Committee made a big mistake. “This is a prize for peace. The thing here is, who is the one that has created peace? The ones who fought against the US and established peace for the country are us, not the US," he said.

When asked whether he would accept the award retrospectively, he said: “Yes, but only if the prize is awarded to me only."

What Was The Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War was a prolonged and deeply divisive conflict that lasted from 1955 to 1975, rooted in Cold War rivalries and the struggle over Vietnam’s national identity. It began after the division of Vietnam into two zones, a communist North, led by Ho Chi Minh, and a Western-backed South, supported initially by France and later by the US.

North Vietnam was allied with the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam received military and financial support from the US and its anti-communist allies.

At its core, the war was both a civil conflict and a proxy war. North Vietnam sought to reunify the country under communist rule, while the US viewed the conflict through the lens of the “domino theory" — the belief that if one country in Southeast Asia fell to communism, others would follow.

The fighting was brutal and unconventional. The Viet Cong, communist guerrilla fighters in the South, launched insurgent attacks across the countryside, while US and South Vietnamese forces conducted search-and-destroy missions, often with devastating consequences for civilians. The US conducted massive aerial bombing campaigns, including the controversial use of napalm and Agent Orange, which caused long-term health and environmental damage.

At its peak in the late 1960s, over 500,000 American troops were stationed in Vietnam. Yet despite its military superiority, the US struggled to defeat an enemy deeply embedded in local terrain and population. The war’s human cost was staggering: millions of Vietnamese civilians and soldiers died, as did more than 58,000 American troops.

By the early 1970s, the war had become deeply unpopular within the US, sparking large-scale protests, draft resistance, and a broader questioning of American foreign policy. Globally, it was seen as a symbol of imperial overreach. Under immense domestic and international pressure, the US began seeking a negotiated withdrawal, which ultimately led to the Paris Peace Accords, and the controversial Nobel Peace Prize decision.

What Were The Paris Peace Accords?

The Paris Peace Accords, signed on 27 January 1973, were a landmark agreement between the US, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the Viet Cong. The deal promised:

• A ceasefire in place across Vietnam
• Withdrawal of US and allied troops
• Exchange of prisoners of war
• Political reconciliation between North and South Vietnam

While the accords were hailed as a breakthrough at the time, they were structurally weak. The ceasefire collapsed within months as both North and South Vietnam resumed fighting, accusing each other of violations. American forces withdrew, but peace did not follow.

Why Was The Nobel Peace Prize Awarded In 1973?

Despite the instability on the ground, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize in October 1973 to Kissinger and Tho. The official citation credited them “for jointly having negotiated a ceasefire in Vietnam in 1973."

Committee member John Sanness, who nominated them just two days after the agreement was signed, admitted in his recommendation that the long-term effect of the deal remained unclear. But he argued that the end of direct conflict between the US and North Vietnam was still a meaningful milestone.

How Did Kissinger Respond To The Award?

Henry Kissinger accepted the Peace Prize but did not attend the award ceremony in Oslo. While his office cited a scheduling conflict with a NATO meeting, reports suggested he skipped the ceremony, fearing public protests.

Two years later, after the fall of Saigon and the final collapse of South Vietnam in 1975, Kissinger offered to return the award. He stated that “the peace we sought through negotiations has been overturned by force." However, the Nobel Committee refused to take it back.

What Was The Global Reaction?

The decision to award the Peace Prize to Kissinger and Tho was met with immediate backlash. In the US, Harvard professors petitioned the Norwegian Parliament to reverse the decision. The New York Times called it the “Nobel War Prize."

The controversy also triggered a rare internal revolt. Two of the five members of the Nobel Committee resigned, reportedly furious not just with the award but also with the committee chairman, who had claimed, against protocol, that the decision had been unanimous.

According to documents reviewed by peace researcher Stein Toennesson, the committee knew the ceasefire might not last, and gave the award anyway. “The prize was given to Kissinger for having gotten the US out of Vietnam … without any peaceful solution in South Vietnam," he told AFP. He added that Tho was included “because the committee felt it could not give the award to Kissinger alone."

Karishma Jain

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...Read More

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...

Read More

News explainers One Accepted, One Refused: The Story Of The Most Controversial Nobel Peace Prize

Read More