OSLO, Jan 27: US President Bill Clinton has been nominated for the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to protect world peace and promote democracy, three Norwegian legislators announced today, reports AP.

Clinton, embroiled in a sex scandal in the United States, was nominated by members of the right-wing Party of Progress, one of the largest blocs in Norway's Parliament.

"Throughout his presidency he has been a guarantor and friend of peace," the lawmakers said in a statement.

They praised Clinton for helping end the war in former Yugoslavia and for standing up to "despots who want to repress human rights and democracy's rules of play."One of the legislators, Vidar Kleppe, said by telephone that they made the decision to nominate Clinton in December, before his current problems.

The nomination deadline for this year's peace prize is January 31, although the Oslo-based awards committee usually accepts nominations postmarked by then. The committee refuses to release the names of nominees, usually 120-130 each year, or comment on candidates.