OSLO -- President Barack Obama is the surprise winner on the 2009 Nobel Peace 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.
President Barack Obama woke up to the news before 6 a.m. Eastern time. The White House press secretary Robert Gibbs phoned the president with the word after learning of the news from reporters.
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