award
Factsheet
Date 9 October 2009 (announcement by Thorbjørn Jagland)
10 December 2009
(ceremony)
10 December 2009
(ceremony)
Location Oslo, Norway
Presented by Norwegian Nobel Committee
Date 9 October 2009 (announcement by Thorbjørn Jagland)
10 December 2009
(ceremony)
10 December 2009
(ceremony)
Location Oslo, Norway
Presented by Norwegian Nobel Committee
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › 2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize
2009 Nobel Peace Prize - Wikipedia
2 weeks ago - Obama was the fourth U.S. president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, after Theodore Roosevelt (1906) and Woodrow Wilson (1919)—both of whom received the award during their terms—and Jimmy Carter (2002), who received the award 21 years after leaving office.
NobelPrize.org
nobelprize.org › prizes › peace › 2009 › obama › facts
Nobel Peace Prize 2009
The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 was awarded to Barack H. Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"
Videos
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NobelPrize.org
nobelprize.org › prizes › peace › 2009 › press-release
The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 - Press release - NobelPrize.org
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.
NPR
npr.org › series › nobel-prizes
The 2009 Nobel Prizes : NPR
October 9, 2009 The president won the peace prize for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
BBC
bbc.com › news › world-europe-34277960
Nobel secretary regrets Obama peace prize - BBC News
September 17, 2015 - The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama in 2009 failed to live up to expectations, the committee's ex-secretary says.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › List_of_awards_and_honors_received_by_Barack_Obama
List of awards and honors received by Barack Obama - Wikipedia
December 13, 2025 - Obama received the Norwegian Nobel Committee's Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, The Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education's Ambassador of Humanity Award in 2014, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2017, and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award in 2018.
YouGov
today.yougov.com › topics › politics › survey-results › daily › 2025 › 06 › 24 › 3f90a › 2
In October 2009, Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people." Do you think Obama deserved to win a Nobel Peace Prize for this? | Daily Question
In October 2009, Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people." Do you think Obama deserved to win a Nobel Peace Prize for this?
Reddit
reddit.com › r/presidents › did obama deserve nobel peace prize, awarded few months into his presidency?
r/Presidents on Reddit: Did Obama deserve Nobel Peace Prize, awarded few months into his presidency?
March 2, 2025 -
Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009, citing Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and a "new climate" in international relations, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world.
Quora
quora.com › Who-nominated-President-Obama-for-the-Nobel-Prize-and-why
Who nominated President Obama for the Nobel Prize, and why? - Quora
Answer (1 of 8): The awarding of that particular prize is controversial for reasons that aren’t too hard to explain and was merited for reasons that are a bit too subtle for the kind of “achievement” the award is for. The controversy breaks down into two things, which are for the most ...
NobelPrize.org
nobelprize.org › prizes › peace › 2009 › summary
The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 - NobelPrize.org
The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 was awarded to Barack H. Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"
NPR
npr.org › series › 113657951 › obama-awarded-2009-nobel-peace-prize
Obama Awarded 2009 Nobel Peace Prize : NPR
October 9, 2009 President Obama was never considered a front-runner for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. But the names of the nominees are kept secret, which fuels a vigorous guessing game each year before the announcement.
NobelPrize.org
nobelprize.org › prizes › peace › 2009 › prize-announcement
Announcement of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to Barack H. Obama. Interview with Geir Lundestad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee - NobelPrize.org
October 19, 2017 - The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 was awarded to Barack H. Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Nobel_Peace_Prize
Nobel Peace Prize - Wikipedia
1 day ago - Nobel Peace Prize controversies often reach beyond the academic community. Criticisms that have been levelled against some of the awards include allegations that they were politically motivated, premature, or guided by a faulty definition of what constitutes work for peace. The awards given to Mikhail Gorbachev, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat, Lê Đức Thọ, Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama...
Axios
axios.com › 2025 › 10 › 10 › nobel-peace-prize-winners-trump-presidents-obama
Nobel Peace Prize: These US presidents, like Obama, have won before
October 10, 2025 - Gunnar Berge, chairman of the Nobel Committee at the time, suggested Carter should have won the award in 1978 for negotiating peace between Egypt and Israel. President Barack Obama earned the award in 2009 for his role in international diplomacy.
ABC News
abcnews.go.com › Politics › president-obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize › story
Obama on Nobel Prize Win: 'This Is Not How I Expected to Wake up This Morning' - ABC News
October 9, 2009 - Press aides said they had heard from news reports weeks ago that the president had been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, but they do not believe Obama himself knew of his nomination.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/explainlikeimfive › eli5: what exactly did obama do to deserve the nobel peace prize?
r/explainlikeimfive on Reddit: ELI5: What exactly did Obama do to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?
May 13, 2014 -
always puzzled me...continues to do so..
Should have marked this as [serious], c'mon guys!
Top answer 1 of 22
141
There is a lot of confusion as to why a president could win a Nobel Peace Prize into their first year in office. It is especially confusing when there are so many people around the world who are dying for peace, and have arguably made a greater impact. Contrary to popular belief, Obama was not awarded the Prize due to him being elected as a black president and people getting "caught up in the moment". It had a lot to do with what he said and did leading up to October 2009. We must look at the Norwegian Nobel Committee's reasons in order to understand why he won. The Norwegian Nobel Committee says that they gave him the prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." What are they referring to here? It takes several months for Nobel Committee Members to write up a report to nominate and select someone for the Prize. Obama gave a very important speech to Egyptians (called "A New Beginning") in June 2009 at Cairo University. He was selected in October 2009. So the Cairo speech had a lot to do with what they refer as "international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". How did "A New Beginning" foster international diplomacy and cooperation? After 9/11 and the prolonged Iraq War, one of the most hostile relationships in politics was between the United States and the Arab World. The Israel/Palestine issue is one of the most difficult problems to solve. Egypt is the largest Arab country, and seen as the centre of the Arab world and influential in the outcome of Israel/Palestine peace. So Obama shot for the stars. He went to Egypt to try to ease US-Arab tensions, and kick off a strong Israel/Palestine peace process. But there's more! In the past, American presidents have used very strong, unapologetic language, like that of President George W. Bush. In "A New Beginning", Obama didn't do that. His speech was one of mutual respect, something an American president hasn't done in a long, long time. He also quoted from the Quran! But so what! What does that mean anyway? Well, the concept of recognition is crucial toward building trust. By quoting from the Quran, Obama is implying that he recognizes Islam and respects it. Respect is the first step toward peace as it opens up diplomacy. The Norwegian Nobel Committee also said that Obama's "vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons" was a reason. This is not particularly important because a lot of presidents have talked about reducing nuclear stockpiles internationally. Particularly, in 1991, there was a treaty called START which started this process. The Nobel Committee saw that Obama was taking this even further. He started writing and talking about a new START treaty to reduce nuclear weapons even before his "A New Beginning" speech in June, so the Nobel Committee had a lot of time to consider it. If Obama let the last treaty expire in 2012, more nuclear weapons would spread around the world. Although he criticized Iran here, he was sure to be fair. And his efforts to be fair were astounding: he admitted that the United States overthrew a democratically elected leader in 1953, which was very fair. The Nobel Prize committee saw this as him being the "bigger man" about the problem. Also, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said he got the prize because as a result of his speech, "democracy and human rights are to be strengthened". Obama talked a lot in Cairo about human rights, religious freedom, and the rights of women in his speech. And in Hosni Mubarak's front door step as well! That takes nerve. Did his speech have an impact on the Arab Spring? Certainly. The Egyptian youth were listening to this speech. They wanted democracy before Obama came in, but Obama's speech gave them support. Obama didn't create the Arab Spring by any means, but it helped a little and set the tone in the Arab world: an American supports and respects Muslims, so how bad could democracy be? The Norwegian Nobel Committee certainly didn't predict that this would lead to the Arab Spring, but as a group of politicians and students of international relations and political science, they sure understand the impacts that such a speech could have. The Norwegian Nobel Committee also felt that Obama is helping the USA play "a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting". There is very little evidence of Obama addressing climate change in time of the October 2009 decision, but by September, Obama proposed new regulations on industry polluters to curb emissions--something George W. Bush wouldn't have done, or didn't do. He strengthened the EPA. Although not directly mentioned by the Committee, Obama also launched the debate on better healthcare in 2009, and talked strongly about closing Guantanamo Bay and ending the Iraq War. Herein lies the problem of giving the award to Obama for many people. Before ending the Iraqi war, the war was scaled up. Indefinite detentions were scaled up by 2012, not retracted. And the Obama administration took up a smaller role on renewing the Kyoto Protocol than many had expected. Although Obama did a lot more for global diplomacy and democracy by October 2009 than many presidents in their entire term (which the Norwegian Nobel Committee noticed), in retrospect of three years, a lot of this has been undone by drone strikes, the relative failures of the Copenhagen summit on climate change, and the passing of the National Defence Authorization Act. This is why people like to wait before awarding a Nobel Prize, and why there was criticism. TL;DR: The fact that he's black and liberal usually overshadows Obama's achievements up to October 2009, when he was selected. The truth is that he has done a lot of good in the international community through his speech in Cairo, ratcheting up the reductions of US/Russia nuclear stockpiles, and scaling up emissions regulations through the EPA. A lot of other Peace Prize winners did a lot more in earning their Peace Prize, but some others have done a lot less than Obama to earn their's. EDIT: People will inevitably want an analysis on the individual views and biases of those individuals on the Norwegian Nobel Committee. This doesn't mean much because it's speculative, and the Committee members have no reason to lie in their original report, but lets take a look. Chairperson Thorbjørn Jagland is a politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He is pro-European consolidation and president of the Council of Europe. He is known to have preferred the European Union for the Nobel Peace Prize since 2008. If he had it his way, the EU would've beat out Obama. Deputy Chairperson Kaci Kullmann Five is a politician for the Norwegian Conservative Party. The Conservative Party is a neoliberal party for tax cuts and smaller government. Ironically, despite all the socialists on the committee, she is responsible for championing Barack Obama for the Prize. Sissel Rønbeck is a politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. Her expertise lies in how she is the Minister for Environmental Affairs, and deputy director for the country's body on Cultural Heritage. She is a socialist. Inger-Marie Ytterhorn is a politician for the Norwegian Progress Party. The Progress Party is the main right wing party in Norway and supports the growth of the oil industry and lower taxes. It supports a Christian heritage, and relatively anti-immigrant. Ågot Valle is a politician for the Norwegian Socialist Left Party. The Party is pro-environment and advocates for larger government responsibility. TL;DR 2: There are three socialists and two right-wing leaning politicians on the committee that selects the Nobel Prize Laureate. Ironically, it was a right-wing politician that championed Obama for the Prize, while the Chair was championing the European Union. There was no clear consensus between the committee members as to whether Obama should be chosen as the winner. http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/o4i9i/eli5_why_did_barack_obama_win_a_nobel_peace_prize/
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In all honestly pretty much nothing. He hadn't been in office that long. I remember reading an interview where he basically said he didn't think he had done anything to deserve it. Officially this is why got it (from wiki) "The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009, citing Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and a "new climate" in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world." Edit: clerification
Newsweek
newsweek.com › politics
Trump Jr says Obama getting Nobel Prize over father is "affirmative action"
June 25, 2025 - The Norwegian Nobel Committee said ... relations. On March 5, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee announced that 338 candidates had been nominated ......
JSTOR
daily.jstor.org › home › archive of most recent posts › did barack obama deserve the nobel prize?
Did Barack Obama Deserve the Nobel Prize? - JSTOR Daily
September 9, 2020 - The Nobel Prize is no stranger to controversy; as the New York Times writes, the Nobel “began choosing winners in 1901, and for almost as long, some of its choices have been assailed as politicized, parochial or just misguided.” · One of its most-high profile controversies was when Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.
Brookings
brookings.edu › home › president obama’s nobel peace prize
President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize | Brookings
July 29, 2016 - Martin Indyk says President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize should be seen as an acknowledgment of the promise his presidency holds for a new era of international cooperation. But Indyk also notes that Obama is still left with numerous foreign policy challenges requiring tangible progress.
Nobel Peace Center
nobelpeacecenter.org › en › exhibitions › obama-a-call-to-action
Nobel Peace Center
Some hours later, Obama responded to the news with the words; ... The Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama because of his “extraordinary contribution to strengthening international diplomacy and cooperation”. It also emphasized ...