US President Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO, Norway (AP) - The committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize says it decided to give that prize to President Barack Obama to “promote what he stands for” and for the “positive processes” that he’s started.

The prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts—but Obama’s work is at a far earlier stage than with past winners of the prize.

Obama’s name had been mentioned as a possible recipient, but many Nobel watchers believed it was too soon into his presidency. The Norwegian Nobel Committee saw it differently, saying “Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman” for the kind of international diplomacy it has sought to stimulate.

It cited Obama’s initiatives to rid the world of nuclear weapons, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation over unilateralism. It also praised the “more constructive role” the U.S. is playing on climate change under Obama’s leadership.