The Norwegian committee said the Quartet was awarded the 2015 prize for its "decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution in 2011."

The National Dialogue Quartet consists of four "organizations in civil society: the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), The Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers," the committee explained.

"This is a great joy and pride for Tunisia, but also a hope for the Arab world," UGTT chief Hussien Abassi told the Reuters news agency.

The Quartet was formed in 2013, when Tunisia's efforts to introduce democracy were in danger of failing amid assassinations and social unrest.

"It established a peaceful political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil war," a statement on the Nobel Peace Prize website reads.

"It was thus instrumental in enabling Tunisia, in the space of a few years, to establish a constitutional system of government guaranteeing fundamental rights for the entire population."

Last year, the peace prize was jointly awarded to the young education activist Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi of India

A total of 273 nominations were made for the 2015 prize, ranging from Pope Francis to nuclear disarmament groups to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

In 2005, the peace prize, which has been awarded since 1901, was awarded to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which had led to speculation that 10 years on, the prize would again go to a person or organization advocating nuclear disarmament.

The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 8 million Swedish crowns ($972,000/862,000 euros), will be presented in Oslo on December 10.