International Relations | 09.10.2009

Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Obama reportedly told aides he was "humbled" by the announcement

US President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in international diplomacy and creating a "new international climate" for dialog and cooperation.

Norwegian Nobel Committee head Thorbjoern Jagland's announcement that the prize would be given to Barack Obama just nine months into his presidency was met with audible gasps from the audience at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo.

Jagland cited Obama's "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Obama, the first African-American to serve as US president, presided over a historic United Nations Security Council meeting, which unanimously approved a US-drafted resolution calling for nations to scrap their nuclear arsenals. He also has worked, unsuccessfully, to bring new life into the stalled peace process in the Middle East.

The prize comes with a monetary award of 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.4 million). It also comes with higher expectations for Obama.

German Prime Minister Angela Merkel sent Obama her congratulations.

"His advocacy for a nuclear-free world is a goal that we should all set for ourselves," Merkel said. "In a short amount of time, he has set a new tone for the rest of the world, bringing a willingness to negotiate."

Aides to Obama woke him up with the news and said he was "humbled" by the committee's decision.

A record 205 nominations were received for the peace prize this year, and as is traditional, were kept a secret until the official announcement. But that didn't stop some from making predictions.

Bookmakers in the UK and Ireland had given the best odds to Chinese dissident Hu Jia, Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan and Afghan women's rights activist Sima Samar. Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was also reported to be on the short list.

The last Americans to win the prize were former vice president Al Gore, who shared it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, and former president Jimmy Carter in 2002, recognized for his work as an international mediator.

svs/dpa/AP/Reuters
Editor: Andreas Illmer

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