Nobel Peace Prize

In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama today, the Nobel Committee said this:

“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 United States 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.”

The last sitting President to receive the Prize was Woodrow Wilson. Al Gore won in 2007, and Jimmy Carter won in 2002.