Satire became obsolete, Tom Lehrer said famously, when Henry Kissinger, then the US secretary of state, was awarded the Nobel peace price in 1973. Among other foreign policy controversies, the secret bombing campaign he had overseen was still raging in Cambodia. It wasn’t the first time the committee’s decision proved a little awkward – nor the last. So, where do recent Nobel peace laureates rank on the Kissinger Index?
Juan Manuel Santos, 2016
Santos, pictured, was awarded the prize last week for his role in signing a peace deal with Farc rebels to end Colombia’s 50-year civil war. The prize was slightly undermined by the Colombian people voting to reject the deal in a referendum – five days before the prize was awarded.
Kissinger rating: 3/5 Henrys
The EU, 2012
The EU was given the prize for its role in joining countries around the continent in peace for more than six decades, a decision that was surely well received by the 200,000 Greeks who marched through Athens to protest against EU-imposed austerity measures. At least everything in the EU has been hunky-dory since then.
Kissinger rating: 2/5 Henrys
Liu Xiaobo, 2010
The Norwegian committee has sometimes antagonised other countries by giving the peace prize to dissidents, critics and opponents of other states. Indeed, Sino-Norwegian relations took a drastic nosedive when the committee awarded Chinese human rights dissident Liu Xiaobo the peace medal in 2010. Many countries might have worried about getting burned by the economic superpower, but not many have a £610bn sovereign wealth fund. How do you like them epler, Hu Jintao?
Kissinger rating: 2/5 Henrys
Barack Obama, 2009
Obama had been seated at the Resolute desk for less than a year – and was still commander-in-chief of two wars – when he was cited for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. Which is a very Norwegian way of saying: “Well done on not being George W Bush.”
Kissinger rating: 4/5 Henrys
