Nobel Peace Prize: ten famous winners - Telegraph Norway Nobel Peace Prize: ten famous winners As Barack Obama is announced as the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, we look back at ten of the most famous - and infamous - past winners. Image 1 of 3 The committee said it attached special importance to Mr Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons Photo: GETTY Image 1 of 3 South Africa's most prominent civil rights leader and former president won the 1993 prize for his work to end the apartheid regime Photo: REUTERS Image 1 of 3 Mother Teresa, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity won the 1979 prize for her work caring for the poor in the slums of Calcutta Photo: REUTERS By Nick Collins 12:02PM BST 09 Oct 2009 1. Martin Luther King Jr. Perhaps most famous for his "I have a dream" speech, he was the winner in 1964 in recognition of his role as a figurehead of the non-violent civil rights and anti-segregation movements in America.

At the age of 35 he was the youngest man to have received the award, and donated all his prize money to the civil rights movement. South Africa's most prominent civil rights leader and former president won the 1993 prize for his work to end the apartheid regime. Related Articles Barack Obama 'humbled' by Nobel Peace Prize 09 Oct 2009 Mandela shared the prize with Frederik Willem de Klerk, the president who released him from prison and lifted the ban on his anti-apartheid ANC party, paving the way for a new constitution. 3. Mother Teresa Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje in 1910, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity won the 1979 prize for her work caring for the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Despite having no money, she built her Christian order into a worldwide organisation with the help of volunteers and charitable donations. 4.

Jimmy Carter In 2002, the former American president was commemorated for his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." During his time as President, he played a key role in disarmament talks with the Soviet Union, resulting in the SALT II treaty, and established relations between the US and China, as well as a number of other international peace treaties. 5. Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho One award that raised eyebrows was the 1973 prize, given to US Henry Kissinger, the US Secretary of State, and Le Duc Tho, a key member of the North Vietnamese government, who declined the prize. The pair, who engaged in secret talks that led to a ceasefire in Vietnam, were controversial winners due to their respective roles in the war in Vietnam, in which both sides attracted bitter criticism. 6. Theodore Roosevelt The American president was named as the winner in 1906 for successfully negotiating a peace agreement that ended the Russo-Japanese war.

He also helped bring the first case before the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague, asking for the tribunal to resolve an old dispute with Mexico over the Pious Foundations of California. 7. Aung San Suu Kyi The Burmese freedom fighter won the prize in 1991 in recognition of her leading role in the non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. She was elected prime minister in 1990, but was prevented from assuming office by the military. She has spent more than 11 of the past 19 years in some form of detention, and is currently under house arrest, but is seen by many as the best hope for the end of military repression in Burma. 8. Al Gore The former US vice president was recognised in 2007 for his efforts to raise awareness about climate change and other environmental issues, chiefly through his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Explaining their decision, the awarding committee said Mr Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with whom he shared the prize, were helping to prevent future conflicts across the world. 9.

Mikhail Gorbachev He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his role in the peace process between America and the Soviet Union that later led to the end of the cold war. His award - which had previously been given to political dissident Andrei Sakharov and Polish trade union leader Lech Walesa - attracted great controversy as it was viewed by many within the Soviet Union as an ideological weapon of the west. 10. Kofi Annan Shared the 2001 prize with the United Nations, of which he was then secretary general, for their "work for a better organised and more peaceful world." This award was also hotly debated, due to what many observers saw as the UN's failure to prevent mass killings in Rwanda and Serbia, and Annan's perceived failure to stand up to America and other western powers. Nobel Peace Prize: And the winner could be .... - CNN.com 1 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The 2016 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to end Colombia's long-running civil war.

Hide Caption 2 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for its "decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in the country in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011." From left to right: the Secretary General of the Tunisian General Labour Union Houcine Abbassi, the President of the National Order of Tunisian Lawyers Fadhel Mahfoudh, the Tunisian Human Rights League Abdessatar Ben Moussa and the President of the Tunisian employers union Wided Bouchamaoui.

Hide Caption 3 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for its "decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in the country in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011." Members of the quartet are seen here in this 2013 photo, left to right, The President of the Tunisian employers union (UTICA), Wided Bouchamaoui, Secretary General of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) Houcine Abbassi (L) , President of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), Abdessattar ben Moussa and the president of the National Bar Association, Mohamed Fadhel Mahfoudh. Hide Caption 4 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Malala Yousafzai split the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with India's Kailash Satyarthi for their struggles against the suppression of children and for young people's rights.

Yousafzai came to global attention after she was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for her efforts to promote education for girls in Pakistan. Hide Caption 5 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons , speaks after his chemical watchdog group was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. The Hague, Netherlands-based organization received the prize for helping to eliminate the Syrian army's stockpiles of poison gas as well as for its longtime efforts to eliminate chemical weapons. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The European Union won the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. Hide Caption 7 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee, from left, Tawakkol Karman of Yemen and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners U.S. President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. Hide Caption 11 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Former Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Muhammed Yunus and Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Hide Caption 14 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement, Kenya, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Former President Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Hide Caption 17 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Former United Nations Secretary General Koffi Annan, center, with French Forces commander Gen. Alain Pellegrini, right, review UNIFIL soldiers upon Annan's arrival to the U.N. peacekeeping base in the southern Lebanese town of Naqura, on August 29, 2006. Annan and the United Nations won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. Hide Caption 19 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners A flag bearing the logo of Medecins sans Frontieres (also known as Doctors Without Borders) stands in the middle of a makeshift clinic at Kenya's Dadaab refuge on October 16, 2011. Medicins sans Frontieres won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

Hide Caption 20 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners David Trimble, left, and John Hume hold up their diplomas and medals after receiving their Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 1998. Trimble and Hume won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. Hide Caption 21 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Jody Williams sits in front of donated shoes symbolizing landmine victims during Ban Landmines Week on March 8, 2001, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. Hide Caption 22 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, left, and Jose Ramos-Horta shake hands at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo on December 9,1996, prior to the awarding ceremony. Belo and Ramos-Horta won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.

Hide Caption 23 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995. Hide Caption 24 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat, from left, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin hold up their awards after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. Hide Caption 25 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners South African National Congress President Nelson Mandela, left, and South African President F.W. de Klerk shake hands in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 1993, after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Hide Caption 26 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Rigoberta Menchu campaigns in the Alameda neighborhood of Guatemala City, Guatemala, on November 4, 2011. Menchu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Hide Caption 29 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners U.N. soldiers unload their gear from a C-130 cargo plane as the U.N. observer team policing the Iran-Iraq ceasefire arrives in Baghdad. The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988. Hide Caption 30 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Costa Rican President-elect Oscar Arias waves to supporters after receiving the ceremonial sash at the National Stadium in San Jose on May 8, 2006. Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987. Hide Caption 31 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel appears at a press conference at the United Nations on October 27, 2004 in New York. Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

Hide Caption 32 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Members of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War clasp hands on October 11, 1985, at the group's Boston headquarters after the organization was awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. The doctors are, from left, Eric Chivian, co-founder; John Pastore, secretary; Sidney Alexander, president of the U.S. affiliate group; and James Muller, co founder. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Archbishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Former Polish President Lech Walesa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. Hide Caption 35 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Alva Myrdal, right, and Alfonso Garcia Robles won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982, having played a central role in the United Nations' disarmament negotiations. Hide Caption 36 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Refugees are registered in Somalia in November 1981.

The Nobel Peace Prize that year was awarded to the United Nations' refugee agency, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Hide Caption 37 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who has devoted his life to the struggle for human rights, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980. Hide Caption 38 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Charity order, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Hide Caption 39 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners President Jimmy Carter, center, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin join hands after signing the Camp David Accords. Sadat and Begin won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Amnesty International won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.

Hide Caption 41 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, co-founders of the Community for Peace People, share a joke while leading a peace rally of Catholic and Protestant woman in the Protestant Shankill Road, in Belfast, on August 28, 1976. Williams and Corrigan won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. Hide Caption 43 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, left, and Irish official Sean MacBride shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. Hide Caption 44 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Hanoi's delegate Le Duc Tho cheers to the crowd while leaving the International Conference Center in Paris on January 23, 1973, after meeting with presidential adviser Henry Kissinger, center. Le Duc Tho and Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.

Hide Caption 45 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners German Chancellor Willy Brandt poses after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize n Oslo on December 10, 1971. Hide Caption 46 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Dr. Norman Borlaug holds up stalks of his specifically crossbred wheat, designed to be more disease-resistant. Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Hide Caption 47 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The International Labour Organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969. David Morse was the director general of the organization from 1948-70. Hide Caption 48 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Rene Cassin, the French jurist and a deputy chairman of the NATO committee for human rights, holds up a telegram after being notified of winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968. Hide Caption 49 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Children drink milk handed out by UNICEF workers in Moundou, Chad, on October 26, 1965.

UNICEF won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965. Hide Caption 50 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. displays his Nobel Peace Prize medal in December 1964 in Oslo, Norway. Then 35, King was the youngest man to have received the prize. The U.S. civil rights leader was slain in 1968. Hide Caption 51 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners A group of Red Cross rescue workers hold a capsule used to supply food and beverages to three trapped miners at an iron ore mine near Lengede, Germany, on October 28, 1963. The League of Red Cross Societies won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1963. Hide Caption 52 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners American chemist Linus Pauling won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his campaigning for a nuclear test ban treaty. Pauling also won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1954. Hide Caption 53 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish politician and the second U.N.

secretary general, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961. Hide Caption 54 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners King Olav V of Norway, left, shakes hands with Albert Lutuli, president-general of the African National Congress, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 in Oslo. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners British politician Philip Noel-Baker was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959. Hide Caption 56 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Georges Pire, right, receives the Nobel Peace Prize in 1958 for his efforts to help European refugees leave their camps and return to a life of freedom and dignity. Hide Caption 57 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Canadian politician Lester Bowles Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his active role in attempting to prevent war. Hide Caption 58 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners North Korean refugees cross the Naktong River in South Korea on August 6, 1950, just a short time before the beginning of the conflict between North and South Korea. The U.N.

forces in Korea had set a time limit of 15 hours for crossing the river. In 1954, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the UNHCR, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Gen. George Catlett Marshall of the U.S. Army won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Dr. Albert Schweitzer -- a physician, philosopher and theologian -- won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Leon Jouhaux, a French union activist, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1951. Hide Caption 62 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Ralph Bunche won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for his "unremitting campaign to develop man's ability to live in peace, harmony and mutual understanding with his fellows," according to the Nobel Committee. Hide Caption 63 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Lord John Boyd Orr, a British nutritionist and health campaigner, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949.

Hide Caption 64 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners A family begins to assimilate in a new community on August 4, 1941, after being rehabilitated by the American Quakers and the Unitarian service committee, after fleeing with thousands of others from war-torn Lorraine, France, to begin a new life. The Friends Service Council (The Quakers) and the American Friends Service Committee won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947. Hide Caption 65 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners John Raleigh Mott, left, and Emily Greene Balch won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. Mott won for his contributions to the creation of a peace-promoting religious brotherhood across national boundaries. Balch won for unrelenting efforts to fight for peace. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945. Hide Caption 67 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners American Red Cross workers check packages for troops fighting in Leyte, Philippines, on November 20,1944.

The International Committee of the Red Cross won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1944. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The Nansen International Office for Refugees won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1938. Hide Caption 69 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Viscount Cecil of Chelwood won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1937 for promoting peace at a time of war. Hide Caption 70 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Carlos Saavedra Lamas won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1936 for his personal contribution to the cause of peace in Latin America. Hide Caption 71 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Carl Von Ossietzky, seen here in a concentration camp uniform, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935. Hide Caption 72 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Arthur Henderson, Britain's foreign secretary, arrives at 10 Downing Street in London on August 17, 1931. Henderson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934.

Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Sir Norman Angell won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933 for promoting international peace. Hide Caption 74 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Swedish Bishop Nathan Söderblom won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930. Söderblom was the first clergyman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Hide Caption 75 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Frank Billings Kellogg, an American diplomat, speaks after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in a ceremony at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway. The award commemorates his origination of the Kellogg Peace Pact, which was signed by European nations and the United States in Paris. Kellogg won the Peace Prize in 1929. Hide Caption 76 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners French educator Ferdinand Buisson was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1927 with Ludwig Quidde, right, who founded the League for Human Rights.

Hide Caption 77 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners German politician and industrialist Gustav Stresemann, left, and French politician Aristide Briand received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926. Hide Caption 78 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners British statesman and Secretary of State for the Colonies Joseph Chamberlain, left, and American statesman and financier Charles Gates Dawes won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Norwegian Arctic explorer and statesman Fridtjof Nansen won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922. Hide Caption 80 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Christian Lous Lange, left, and Karl Hjalmar Branting won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1921 for promoting global peace. Hide Caption 81 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners French socialist statesman Leon Victor Auguste Bourgeois, founder of the League of Nations, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1920. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners President Woodrow Wilson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919.

Hide Caption 83 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Belgian diplomat Henri La Fontaine, who served as president of the Permanent International Peace Bureau, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1913. Hide Caption 84 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners American jurist and statesman Elihu Root, who served as U.S. Secretary of War from 1899-1904, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912 for his promotion of international arbitration. Hide Caption 85 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Tobias Michael Carel Asser, left, and Alfred Hermann Fried won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911 for their efforts in promoting peace among nations. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The International Peace Bureau won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910. Hide Caption 87 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners French diplomat Paul Henri Benjamin Balluet d'Estournelles de Constant, Baron de Constant de Rebecque, left, and Belgian Prime Minister Auguste Marie Francois Beernaert won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1909.

Hide Caption 88 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Danish writer and politician Fredrik Bajer, left, and Swedish author and politician Klas Pontus Arnoldson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1908. Hide Caption 89 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The Nobel Peace Prize in 1907 was awarded jointly to Italian journalist Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, left, and French industrialist Louis Renault. Hide Caption Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 was awarded to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Hide Caption 91 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Austrian author Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicita von Suttner became the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905. Hide Caption 92 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Members of the Red Cross Motor Corps, all wearing masks to protect against the further spread of the influenza epidemic, carry a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance in St. Louis in October 1918. The International Committee of the Red Cross won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917.

Hide Caption 93 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners The Institute of International Law won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1904 for promoting peace around the world. Hide Caption 94 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners English politician, pacifist and trade unionist Sir William Randal Cremer won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1903. Hide Caption 95 of 97 Photos: Nobel Peace Prize winners Swiss activist Elie Ducommun and Swiss lawyer Charles Albert Gobat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1902. Hide Caption BBC NEWS | Europe | Obama wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Obama wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Advertisement The Nobel committee said they wanted to support Mr Obama's approach US President Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee said he won it for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples". The committee highlighted Mr Obama's efforts to support international bodies and promote nuclear disarmament. Mr Obama - woken up with the news early on Friday - said in an address at the White House that he was "surprised and deeply humbled" by the award.

He said he did not feel he deserved to be in the company of some of the "transformative figures" who had previously received the award. Speaking outside the White House, he said he would accept the prize as a "call to action". There were a record 205 nominations for this year's peace prize. Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Chinese dissident Hu Jia had been among the favourites. Instead the committee chose Mr Obama, who was inaugurated less than two weeks before the 1 February nomination deadline. There was widespread surprise at the committee's decision. While world leaders were largely supportive of the award, thousands of people have contacted the BBC with more sceptical views. An estimated 75% of comment sent to the BBC expressed surprise at the award. Some said awarding the prize to Mr Obama was plain wrong, others that the decision had come too soon, before he had made any concrete foreign policy achievement. ANALYSIS Paul Reynolds BBC News, London The award is certainly unexpected and might be regarded as more of an encouragement for intentions than a reward for achievements. After all, the president has been in office for a little over eight months and he might hope to serve eight years.

His ambition for a world free of nuclear weapons is one that is easier to declare than to achieve and a climate control agreement has yet to be reached. Indeed, the citation indicates that it is President Obama's world view that attracted the Nobel committee - that diplomacy should be founded "on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population". Obama rewarded for world view The Nobel laureate - chosen by a five-member committee - wins a gold medal, a diploma and 10m Swedish kronor ($1.4m). "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 Norwegian committee said in a statement. "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." Asked why the prize had been awarded to Mr Obama less than a year after he took office, Nobel Committee head Thorbjoern Jagland said: "It was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve". "It is a clear signal that we want to advocate the same as he has done," he said.

He specifically mentioned Mr Obama's work to strengthen international institutions and work towards a world free of nuclear arms. 'New climate' Reaction to the committee's decision from around the world was swift and varied. MARDELL'S AMERICA There was already a huge weight of responsibility on Obama's shoulders, and this medal hung round his neck has just made it a little heavier Mark Mardell Read Mark's thoughts in full Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, said he could not think of anyone more deserving of the award. "In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself," Mr ElBaradei said. At the other end of the spectrum, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the Reuters news agency the award was ridiculous. "The Nobel prize for peace? Obama should have won the 'Nobel Prize for escalating violence and killing civilians'," he said. Since taking office in January, President Obama has pursued an ambitious international agenda including a push for peace in the Middle East and negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.

THE SELECTION PROCESS Those qualified to nominate candidates include members of national governments, international judiciary, academics and previous prize winners Five Norwegians are chosen by Norway's parliament to sit on the Nobel Committee The committee compiles a shortlist of between five and 20 candidates The shortlist is considered by the Nobel Institute's permanent advisers, mainly Norwegian academics The Nobel Committee chooses the winner Details of the nominations and selection process are kept secret for 50 years Profile: Barack Obama But critics say he has failed to make breakthroughs. Domestically, Mr Obama has been working to tackle an economic crisis and win support for healthcare reform. Some said they saw the prize as a way of encouraging the US leader early in his presidency. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama's message of hope," said Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a former winner. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the award confirmed "America's return to the hearts of the people of the world". The statement from the Nobel Committee said Mr Obama had "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," it said.

The committee added that the US was now playing a more constructive role in meeting "the great climatic challenges" facing the world, and that democracy and human rights would be strengthened. Mr Obama is the first US president to win the prize since former US President Jimmy Carter in 2002. Former vice-president Al Gore shared the prize in 2007. Nobel Peace Prize: They didn't win, either - CNN.com Nobel Peace Prize: They didn't win, either By Dana Ford, CNN updated 6:39 AM EDT, Fri October 10, 2014 Many had expected Sima Samar to win in 2009, and in years since. She is best known as a trailblazer for women's rights in Afghanistan, though she's worked on human rights around the world. Pope John Paul II was a favorite in 2003. Many credit the Polish-born Pope with playing a key role in the defeat of Communism. He traveled widely and made a point to preach religious tolerance during his 26-year papacy. Corazon Aquino was the first woman to lead the Philippines, serving as President from 1986-1992.

A former housewife, she was propelled to the head of a "People Power" movement that pushed out longtime strongman Ferdinand Marcos after her husband's assassination. Cesar Chavez was nominated for the prize three times by the American Friends Service Committee -- in 1971, 1974 and 1975. He was one of America's foremost Latino and labor leaders. Eleanor Roosevelt was a tireless advocate for civil rights and women. She transformed the role of the first lady of the United States. Roosevelt was considered several times for the peace prize, but never won. Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi is widely recognized as one of the most-snubbed nominees. His name is virtually synonymous with peace.

HIDE CAPTION Nobel Peace Prize: They didn't win either Nobel Peace Prize: They didn't win either Nobel Peace Prize: They didn't win either Nobel Peace Prize: They didn't win either Nobel Peace Prize: They didn't win either Nobel Peace Prize: They didn't win either << NEW: India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai win the peace prize Handicapping the Nobel Peace Prize is notoriously difficult This year, the odds-on favorite was Pope Francis By losing, he joins an illustrious list of favorites that didn't win (CNN) -- Handicapping the Nobel Peace Prize is notoriously difficult. Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), a peace studies organization, has never picked a winner, since starting to make predictions in 2009. This year, the odds-on favorite was Pope Francis. His win would have been historic -- he'd have been the first Roman Catholic pontiff to win the peace prize. Instead, it went to India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai for their push for young people's right to education.

But, by losing, the Pope joins another -- still illustrious -- list: Favorites that didn't win. Here's a look at six rumored front-runners, who surprised everyone when they didn't walk away with the Nobel Peace Prize: Mahatma Gandhi Keystone/Getty Images Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi is widely recognized as one of the most-snubbed nominees. His name is virtually synonymous with peace. Gandhi was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize -- in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and finally in 1948, a few days before he was assassinated -- but never won. A posthumous award was reportedly considered. But, in the end, the Nobel Committee decided against making an award in 1948, saying "there was no suitable living candidate." Many have interpreted that comment to mean that Gandhi was the de facto winner that year. Sima Samar JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images The Nobel Committee is known to make surprising choices sometimes, and few winners were more of a surprise than U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009, the first year of his presidency.

Many had expected Samar to win that year, or later. She is best known as a trailblazer for women's rights in Afghanistan, though she's worked on human rights around the world. Samar fled Afghanistan when its communist regime arrested her husband in 1984. She remained in exile until 2002 when she was appointed as a women's affairs minister in then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai's transitional administration She is a medical doctor who serves as the chairperson of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission. Cesar Chavez FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Chavez was nominated for the prize three times by the American Friends Service Committee -- in 1971, 1974 and 1975. The Mexican American farm worker and labor leader co-founded what's now known as the United Farm Workers. The group fought for fair wages and safer working conditions through nonviolent marches, boycotts and fasts. Chavez is widely celebrated in the United States as one of the country's foremost Latino leaders. He died in the early 1990s, but his legacy lives on.

Chavez is credited with popularizing the Spanish phrase, "Si, se puede," which was adopted as "Yes, we can," by Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Pope John Paul II DANIEL JANIN/AFP/Getty Images This year wasn't the first year a Pope was in the running. John Paul was a favorite in 2003. Many credit the Polish-born pope with playing a key role in the defeat of Communism. He traveled widely and made a point to preach religious tolerance during his 26-year papacy. When he died, in 2005, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel told CNN that John Paul II "will have a very important place in Jewish history" as the first Pope to visit a synagogue. He apologized for previous persecution of Jews at the hands of the church and for the Vatican's failure to do more to prevent the Holocaust. John Paul lost to Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer who became the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Corazon Aquino JOHN GIANNINI/AFP/Getty Images Aquino was the first woman to lead the Philippines, serving as President from 1986-1992.

A former housewife, she was propelled to the head of a "People Power" movement that pushed out longtime strongman Ferdinand Marcos after her husband's assassination. She was a religious woman who drove the country's democratic process. Aquino fought against poverty and the country's massive debt, while contending with a Marxist insurgency and several coup attempts. She managed to reform the country's constitution, imposing a single six-year term for Philippine presidents. She died in 2009, without ever having won the peace prize. Her son, Benigno Aquino III, is the current President of the Philippines. Eleanor Roosevelt Pictorial Parade/Getty Images Was one Roosevelt enough? In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Decades later, Eleanor Roosevelt never did. She is thought to have been nominated several times while she was alive. There was also a campaign to award a posthumous prize to her. Roosevelt was a tireless advocate for civil rights and women. She transformed the role of the first lady of the United States.

"She advocated for human and civil rights throughout her political life and represented America in the United Nations and helped to draft the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights," wrote a CNN iReporter in support of a posthumous prize for Roosevelt. "She was a strong, bold and courageous woman and she deserves to honored respectfully." CNN's Faith Karimi contributed to this report. Part of complete coverage on The Nobel Prize

Question: Which notable leader won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize?
Answer: Barack Obama