From 2001 to 2003, when Waage reviewed the archive material on the Oslo process of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during the early to mid-1990s on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she discovered that key documents were missing from the Ministry’s archives. Since then, she has sought to locate the documents, criticised the secrecy, and consistently called for transparency.
She is being awarded the Fritt Ord Prize for her long-standing, research-based contributions to the quest for truth in the face of powerful political and bureaucratic opposition.

For several decades, Waage has been one of Norway’s leading researchers on the Middle East conflict. Her efforts within and beyond academic circles have helped challenge the Norway’s self-image as an unambiguous, non-controversial nation of peace. By virtue of her long-standing research-based work, she has challenged established narratives that have held sway among politicians, diplomats and other researchers. This has met with varying degrees of resistance over the past 30 years, while Waage has remained steadfast in her contention that greater transparency is essential for empirically-based research, critical truth-seeking and enlightenment.

“Hilde Henriksen Waage has been fearless and uncompromising in her quest for truth and her demands for greater transparency in relation to Norway’s consensus-driven foreign policy and the powerful political networks surrounding the peace process in the Middle East. Long before the Epstein case came to light, she was posing foundational questions about how key actors and institutions shielded important aspects of decision-making processes and documentation from critical scrutiny”, comments Bård Vegar Solhjell, chair of the Fritt Ord Foundation Board.
In the ongoing debate about the Epstein case, which is now leading to a comprehensive public inquiry into the Norwegian Foreign Service, Waage has been one of the clearest voices calling for transparency and access to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ processes and archives.
“In an era characterised by growing distrust of institutions and polarisation in public discourse, there is a tremendous need for independent voices that combine professional gravitas with a willingness to share knowledge-based criticism of power. Throughout her career as a researcher, Hilde Henriksen Waage has demonstrated courage in the face of opposition and attempts to marginalise her. This award may inspire others to show similar courage”, concludes Solhjell.
Questions regarding the grounds for the decision and the award may be directed to the Chair of the Board Bård Vegar Solhjell. See below for contact details.

About the award winner

Hilde Henriksen Waage (66) is a professor of History at the University of Oslo and a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). She has published a wide range of books and articles, both nationally and internationally, on Norway’s relations with Israel, the Oslo process and the reasons why there is still no peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the surrounding Arab states. As a commentator on the Middle East, she is frequently cited in Norwegian and international media.
In 2013, she published the book Conflict and Superpower Politics in the Middle East (Konflikt og stormaktspolitikk i Midtøsten) and was awarded the Sverre Steen Prize for the communication of outstanding historical research for having, through “thorough source analysis, shed new light on Norwegian Middle East policy and Norway’s role in international negotiations”. Her book The Contest for Syria (Spillet om Syria) was published in 2022. In 2024, she was awarded the University of Oslo’s Communication Prize for being a clear, critical and balanced communicator about the political history of the Middle East over the past two decades.

About the Fritt Ord Prize
The Fritt Ord Prize is the Fritt Ord Foundation’s highest honour. The prize laureate receives a cash award of NOK 500 000 and a statuette designed by Nils Aas.
The prize will be awarded in Oslo on Thursday 7 May 2026 at 6 pm.