Begin and Sadat Win the Nobel Peace Prize

October 27, 1978

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin are jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in bringing about peace between Israel and Egypt. The award would be presented in a ceremony on December 10, 1978.

The announcement of the award came a little over a month after the conclusion of the Camp David talks, which had laid a foundation for the March 1979 Peace Treaty between the two countries. Some observers believe that the awarding of the prize to Begin and Sadat, before a peace treaty was formally signed, was insurance to make sure that the two leaders did in fact go forward with the talks and conclude them with a treaty.

Begin told the press, “I thank the Nobel Prize Committee for the honor bestowed for our peace effort…..I believe that the negotiations will end successfully. But the prize, given to me even before the successful conclusion, has in fact been given to the entire people of Israel and I am nothing but the emissary through which the prize has been bestowed upon our people. As I have claimed all my life, no people yearn for peace as we do and surely no more than we do.”

The image above shows Menachem Begin delivering his acceptance speech on December 10, 1978.
Read more at the Nobel Prize website.