A former Norwegian minister nominated fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize Thursday in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

A former Norwegian minister nominated fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize Thursday in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

"He has contributed to revealing the extreme level of surveillance by nations against other nations and of citizens," Baard Vegar Solhjell told AFP, explaining his move.

In a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Solhjell and his party colleague Snorre Valen said that they do not necessarily condone or support all of Snowden's disclosures, but praised him for revealing the "nature and technological prowess of modern surveillance".

They added that Snowden's actions have "led to the reintroduction of trust and transparency as a leading principle in global security policies".

US National Security Agency documents leaked by Snowden in 2013 revealed widespread surveillance of individuals and institutions in the United States and around the world.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2014 peace prize is February 1.

Among those eligible to forward nominations are politicians and barristers around the world, as well as university professors from certain disciplines.

In July 2013 a Swedish sociology professor, Stefan Svallfors, nominated Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize after the deadline had passed but the nomination is still valid for 2014.