German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. (AP)

BEIJING, Aug. 24 -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize.

    Guenter Grass, Germany's 1999 Nobel literature laureate, told DPA Monday that he considered Schroeder a candidate for the peace award because of his strong opposition to the US-led war against Iraq.

    The most recent German national to win the prestigious peace prize was Willy Brandt, the late Social Democratic Chancellor and politician, who won the award in 1971.

    A record 199 nominations including 166 individual nominees were reported to be under consideration for the 2005 award.

    Other names mentioned included former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Indian musician Ravi Shankar, and former Czech President Vaclav Havel.

    The peace prize, worth 10 million kronor, or 1.3 million US dollars, will be announced October 14 in Oslo, Norway.

    Parliamentarians, academics, former peace prize laureates and current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee have the right to nominate candidates.

    The committee that selects the final winner advises nominators not to announce their proposals. However, there are no rules against the procedure thus leaving plenty of room for speculation before the announcement.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com/DPA)