US President Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize less than a year after taking office.
Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.The Nobel Committee said he won it for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples".
There were a record 205 nominations for this year's peace prize. Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Chinese dissident Hu Jia had been among the favourites. Obama's name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award the president.
Among earlier US leaders, Theodore Roosevelt won the prize in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won it in 1919.
The Nobel prize was invented by the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel, and was first awarded in 1901. The prize-giving ceremony for the peace award is due to take place on 10 December in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
The Nobel prize was invented by the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel, and was first awarded in 1901. The prize-giving ceremony for the peace award is due to take place on 10 December in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
