The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to U.S. President Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."^[1] The award was announced on October 9, 2009 by Thorbjørn Jagland, the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose members are selected by the Parliament of Norway. As specific examples of the work that led to the award, the Committee highlighted efforts to promote nuclear nonproliferation (particularly in Iran),^[2] and a "new climate" in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world.^[3]

President Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Theodore Roosevelt won the award in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won in 1919. Former President Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002, while former Vice President Al Gore shared the 2007 prize with the U.N. panel on climate change.^[4] Obama won the prize about nine months after being sworn-in as president.

The award has become the subject of strong criticism both in Norway and internationally; The Times referred to it as "absurd" and as a "mockery of the Nobel peace prize"^[5].

Nominees

Candidates for the Nobel Peace prize can be nominated by previous winners, members of national government and judiciary, and academics, among others. A five member Nobel Committee, whose members are chosen by the Norwegian parliament, examines the nominations and creates a shortlist of 5-20 candidates. After further examination of the candidates by the a group of academics who are the Nobel Institute's permanent advisers, the committee selects the final winner.^[2]

In 2009, Obama was one of the 205 original nominations for the award. They included civil rights activists in China and Afghanistan, as well as African politicians. Colombia Senator Piedad Cordoba,^[6][7] Afghanistan’s Sima Samar,^[6] Chinese dissident Hu Jia, and the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai had been regarded as pre-announcement favorites for the award.^[2]

Citation

The full award citation read:^[1][3]

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

Reaction

Obama's winning the peace prize was largely unanticipated and called a "stunning surprise" by The New York Times. In a press conference following the award announcement, reporters noted that Obama had been the president for around 9 months, and had made only some progress in achieving his ambitious international agenda. Jagland expressed the hope that the prize would add momentum to Obama's efforts, while saying that it had not been awarded for "what may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do."^[8]

Political reaction in Norway

The Nobel Peace Prize is a awarded by a committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. The award divided opinion among Norwegian politicians, and was strongly criticized by Siv Jensen, leader of the largest opposition party, the Progress Party.^[9] Leader of the Conservative Party of Norway, Erna Solberg said she was surprised by the award and expressed criticism for giving the award so early in president Obamas presidency.^[10] The leftist party Rødt referred to the award as a scandal, citing the fact that Obama is commander-in-chief of a country at war in Iraq and Afghanistan^[11].

International reaction

•  Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai said that US President Barack Obama was the "appropriate" person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. "His hard work and his new vision on global relations, his will and efforts for creating friendly and good relations at global level and global peace make him the appropriate recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize," said Siamak Hirai, a spokesman for Karzai.^[12]

•  Israel - President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres congratulated Obama in a letter, stating, "Under your leadership, peace became a real and original agenda. And from Jerusalem, I am sure all the bells of engagement and understanding will ring again. You gave us a license to dream and act in a noble direction".^[13]

•  Syria - MP Muhammad Habash stated: "We in Syria believe that Obama's initiative have [sic] been suitable, and that Syria is now witnessing important steps to correct the relationship with the United States. I believe everyone here will be very happy for Obama."^[14]

References