Obama Awarded 2009 Nobel Peace Prize - Nigerian Village Square

Oct

2009

Obama Awarded 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

By CNN

(CNN) -- President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

Less than nine months into his presidency, Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

The first African-American to win the White House, Obama was praised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

"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," the committee said. "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."

The committee also said Obama has "created a new climate in international politics."

The announcement came as a surprise -- Obama's name had not been mentioned among front-runners -- and the roomful of reporters in Oslo, Norway, gasped when he was named.

In his short time in office, Obama has acted on a wide range of issues from the economy to terrorism and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Obama also lobbied unsuccessfully to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, Illinois. After returning from Denmark, Obama expressed no regret about his trip, saying it is "always a worthwhile endeavor to promote and boost the United States."

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, last year's Peace Prize laureate, said it was clear the Nobel committee wanted to encourage Obama on the issues he has been discussing on the world stage.

Odd facts about Nobel winners

"I see this as an important encouragement," Ahtisaari said.

The committee wanted to be "far more daring" than in recent times and make an impact on global politics, said Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the International Peace Research Institute.

Wangari Muta Maathai, the Kenyan who won the 2004 Peace Prize, said Obama's win will help Africa move forward.

"I think it is extraordinary," she said. "It will be even greater inspiration for the world. He has shown how we can probably come together, work together in a cooperative way."

The award comes at a crucial time for Obama, who has administration officials dispatched on global peace missions.

Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, has returned to the region to advocate for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Mitchell met Thursday with Israeli President Shimon Peres. He plans to meet Friday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before talking with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton starts a six-day trip to Europe and Russia on Friday. On the trip, the secretary will discuss the next steps on Iran and North Korea, and international efforts to have the two countries end their nuclear programs.

The centerpiece of the trip will be her visit to Moscow, where she will work toward an agreement to take the place of the Start II arms control pact, which expires December 5. She will also address the new bilateral presidential commission that is working on a broad range of issues, from arms control to health.

Obama became the third sitting U.S. president to win the prestigious prize. Jimmy Carter was the fourth American leader to win, but he was long out of office when he was recognized in 2002.

This year's peace prize nominees included 172 people and 33 organizations, the highest number of nominations ever. The committee does not release the names of the nominees.

The Nobel recipient receives a prize of about $1.4 million

Your Comments

Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.

Eja

# 1 | 09.10.2009 05:25

	hee hee hee haw haw haw ho ho ho To paraphrase what a US satirist said when Kissinger won the same prize, "Now I know the meaning of irony..."

Eja

# 2 | 09.10.2009 05:55

	Barack Obama gets Nobel Prize for Peace October 9th, 2009 LONDON - US President Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”, it was announced in Oslo Friday. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it 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,” the committee said on its website. “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,” the committee said. Obama was elected as the first African-American president of his country in November 2008. Source Nobel Committee: "...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." - A principle that has been affirmed over and over again with Predator drones....:lol:

nijalaw nijalaw is offline

# 3 | 09.10.2009 06:05

	Great news & congratulations are in order.:hail::hail::hail: ILN & Rose must be :redface::redface::redface:

godfather godfather is offline

# 4 | 09.10.2009 06:07

	He deserves it! Now lets see how the wing nuts are going to spin this one.

Eja

# 5 | 09.10.2009 06:22

	Breaking News!!! October 9 2009 Citizen of Odua Kingdom Master Sergeant Diogenes Eja has just won the Olympic Gold Medals in Heavyweight Boxing, 400 meters Athletics, Archery, and Showjumping for the 2016 games. A visibly delighted Eja told journalists, "This is the greatest day of my life, after all the talking I have done about getting in shape, I am so proud and gratified that the Olympic Committee has shown its faith in me by awarding me these medals. It is now my intention to start training in earnest, lose some weight, get introduced to a horse and repay the faith placed in me by the Committee by showing my skills in the events for which I have been awarded the titles of Olympic Champion." Source

agensheku agensheku is offline

# 6 | 09.10.2009 06:34

	Obama is the quintessential black president and such a prize is an acknowlegement of what the blackman is capable of achieving.congrats,President Obama.congrats Kenya,his african root.wish he were a nija root man,as we are fed up with scandalous news of egunje,egunje,ibori,exconvict,fraud,etc circulating worldwide about the 49year old (gi)ant of africa.as for the snobbish whites who are grudgingly accepting Obama as THE CHIEF,lock yourselves in the bathroom and weep your eyes out!

valteena valteena is offline

# 7 | 09.10.2009 06:40

	Wow in less than one year in office? Umm!!! Don't get me wrong I am an Obama fan but a nobel peace prize in less than a year in office, especially when there's been no concrete results from his numerous effort yet:confused1. Oh I get it Nobel peace prize are given for efforts and not the actual result.. Oh well I guess he does deserve it for the effort then.

Beam

# 8 | 09.10.2009 06:51

	=Eja;394382>Breaking News!!! October 9 2009 Citizen of Odua Kingdom Master Sergeant Diogenes Eja has just won the Olympic Gold Medal in Heavyweight Boxing, 400 meters Athletics, Archery, and Showjumping for the 2016 games. A visibly delighted Eja told journalists, "This is the greatest day of my life, after all the talking I have done about getting in shape, I am so proud and gratified that the Olympic Committee has shown its faith in me by awarding me these medals. It is now my intention to start training in earnest, lose some weight, get introduced to a horse and repay the faith placed in me by the Committee by showing my skills in the events for which I have been awarded the titles of Olympic Champion." Source *Eja:lol::lol::lol:* *The last time I checked were you not suppossed to be fasting and praying* *for those shildren in Kenya :icon_ques no be so?* *When then have you had the time to be so resourceful with your source* *regarding your accomplishment at the 2016 olympics:D* *Is it me of has the irony of this thread been lost on the point " he na our black broda he not fit do wrong" and the sun shines off his Azz:wink:*

Eja

# 9 | 09.10.2009 06:56

	=valteena;394387>Wow in less than one year in office? Umm!!! Don't get me wrong I am an Obama fan but a nobel peace prize in less than a year in office, especially when there's been no concrete results from his numerous effort yet:confused1. Oh I get it Nobel peace prize are given for efforts and not the actual result.. Oh well I guess he does deserve it for the effort then. So far, the only 'peace' this dood has produced is the *"peace of the graveyard".... Any concrete evidence to the contrary will be welcome - as in, anyone who knows of any location on Earth where Obama's efforts has produced an equitable peace* should speak forth. Verily I sayeth unto thee, if it is the intention of the Nobel Committee to devalue their thing, then they should carry on playing to the peanut gallery.

Eja

# 10 | 09.10.2009 07:04

	=Beam;394394>*Eja:lol::lol::lol:* *The last time I checked were you not suppossed to be fasting and praying* *for those shildren in Kenya :icon_ques no be so?* *When then have you had the time to be so resourceful with your source* *regarding your accomplishment at the 2016 olympics:D* *Is it me of has the irony of this thread been lost on the point " he na our black broda he not fit do wrong" and the sun shines off his Azz:wink:* Nice try Beam, you think that by challenging me you can get me to reveal my secrets? No way. However, I will give you a strong hint as to the name of the person who in 2023, becomes Nigeria's sole winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Economics, Literature and Eba-hurling : A 3 letter word that starts with with E and ends with A....:wink:

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