Former Leader of the Boomtown Rats, Bob Geldof has been nominated by a Norwegian parliamentarian for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

Jan Simonsen is one of the thousands of people qualified to nominate their favorites as peace prize candidates until the traditionally February 1 deadline.

The former right wing member of the Norwegian parliament has always thought that "rock music builds bridges, that it is a factor of peace", as he said in an interview for the Associated Press.
"Whether it's in Palestine or in Israel, rock is a link between young people", the independent Norwegian parliamentarian added.

Robert Frederick Xenon "Bob" Geldof, born October 5, 1951 started his career as a music journalist in Vancouver. He soon became the leader of a band called Boomtown Rats, which was closely linked with the punk movement of the mid-1970s.

In 1979, the first new wave chart-topper in the UK was the band's first Number 1 single "Rat Trap".
Geldof has also played the main part in the 1982 film "Pink Floyd The Wall", based on Pink Floyd's album "The Wall".

After watching Michael Buerk's BBC news report on the famine in Ethiopia in 1984, he wrote a charity single called "Do They Know It's Christmas" with Midge Ure from Ultravox.

His next move was to start a group with top industry British and Irish rock and pop musicians.
Band Aid's single has raised millions of pounds becoming the best-selling song in the UK chart history until 1997.
Bob Geldof organized the massive charity concert Live Aid in 1985, that raised huge amounts of money for the African cause.

In 1989, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan played the re-recorded single under the banner "Band Aid II", while another group of important musicians called Band Aid 20, re-released the song during the 2004 Christmas holidays.

The Live 8 project was announced 20 years later, on March 31, 2005, in order to raise awareness on the African famine and debt issues.

Queen Elizabeth II awarded him an honorary knighthood for his work, but Geldof cannot use the title of "Sir" as he was born in Ireland.

Bob Geldof has been closely working with the DATA organization (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), founded by the U2 lead singer Bono.

The former Irish pop star turned humanitarian is also known for his anti-euro and anti-globalization views, but also for being an active spokesmen for father's rights in the UK. (source: wikipedia)