Head of Nobel Peace Prize awards committee dead at 65

HELSINKI – Norwegian Nobel officials say the head of Norwegian Nobel Committee, Kaci Kullmann Five, has died at age 65.

Olav Njolstad, director of The Nobel Institute, says Five, who had been a member of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize awarding committee since 2003, died Sunday after being treated for a recurrence of cancer.

Five was elected chairwoman of the committee in 2015. She announced the winner of last year’s prize in October – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos – but was unable to attend the December ceremony due to illness.

She was also known as a political pioneer, who provided an important role model for many women.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg described her as “a strong and good person.”

She is survived by a husband and two adult children.