Oct. 09 2009
Oslo (October 9, 2009) -In a stunning victory for Barak Obama and a harsh rebuke to his predecessor, Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
According to the committee, the award was given 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.”
In his brief tenure, Obama has strengthen ties with Europe, opened up talks in the Middle East and is working to improved relations in Cuba and South America. The prize was clearly given not for any specific accomplishments, but for the hope that a new American “world view” will lead to a better world in the near future.
The Nobel Committee stated:
“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.”
