A CAMPAIGNER against nuclear weapons who was a student at Edinburgh University just five years ago was one of the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Sunday.

Daniel Hogsta, who graduated from Edinburgh Law School in 2012, is network co-ordinator for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

The award was given to ICAN in recognition of its work in driving progress on the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It was was passed in July and is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons. The UN – apart from the Security Council – has the goal of total elimination

Hogsta began working with ICAN shortly after leaving Edinburgh. For the past two years, he has coordinated its partnerships with more than 450 organisations. He has also lobbied governments in international forums, such as the UN. During this time, Hogsta and ICAN’s executive director Beatrice Fihn were the only full-time members of staff.

The Edinburgh graduate admitted he was “totally floored” by the Nobel Prize win.

He said: “There had been some murmurings on media outlets that it was a possibility, but we never really entertained that possibility in our minds.

“After about 5-10 minutes of paralytic shock, we managed to collect ourselves and start to deal with the mad rush of media swamping our office and jamming the phone lines.”

ICAN’s success has another Edinburgh connection. At the time of the win, Dagmar Topf Aguiar de Medeiros, a PhD student from the School of Law, was an intern with the organisation.

Fihn jointly delivered the acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony with Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes, along with those in chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, and literature.

It has been awarded annually since 1901 to those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.

Edinburgh has several links with Nobel Peace Prize laureates. Malala Yousafzai, the recipient in 2014 and the youngest ever winner, is an honorary graduate.

Professors Gabi Hegerl and Mark Rounsevell and Dr Terry Barker contributed to the work of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.

In 1995, Sir Joseph Rotblat, Montague visiting professor of international relations at the university from 1975-76, was awarded the prize for efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international affairs and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms.

Hogsta added: “We recognise that this award is both a hugely humbling honour and an incredible opportunity. The recognition of our strategy by the Nobel Peace Prize committee is a massive boost. We’ll work harder to live up to it.”