The Nobel Peace Prize

Amazing news in America with the announcement that President Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." The high honor was not expected by the young leader, and is considered by many to be a surprise decision, perhaps based more on expectations than achievements. Yet, the decision to award the Peace Prize to Obama was unanimous among the 5-person committee.

Since 1901, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 89 times, including four awards to American presidents. Obama's award is the third time a sitting president has received the honor. According to the official Nobel website, the 2009 Peace Prize competition was among the most people and organizations in history:

"205 names were submitted for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, 33 of which are organizations. The Nobel Committees in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and the Prize Committee for Economics each usually receives 250-300 names every year, but this is the highest number of nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize ever."

Questions remain as to why the Norweigian Nobel Committee selected Obama after he has only been in office 9 months, even though they praised his outreach to Muslims and his push for nuclear disarmament. Nonetheless, Obama joins the ranks of respected Nobel Laureates including Jimmy Carter, Elie Wiesel, Desmond Tutu and Mother Teresa. The President accepted the award in a humble fashion on October 9, 2009:

"I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership. I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

The Nobel Peace Prize is over 100 years old. It originated from the Will of Dr. Alfred Nobel, a Swedish cosmopolitan and inventor, signed on November 27, 1895. In his Will, Nobel dedicated a large share of his fortune (the equivalent of about $250 million USD) to fund the Nobel Prizes. Among the 6 Nobel Prizes (also including physics, chemistry, literature, medicine and economics), the Nobel Peace Prize is dedicated to:

"the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

According to Nobel's Will, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Parliament.  Nominations are sought by the Nobel Committees from a broad range of International organizations, parliamentary committees, former Nobel Laureates and more.

Alfred Nobel was more than a wealthy man. His legacy includes chemist, engineer, innovator, armaments manufacturer and inventor of dynamite. But Dr. Nobel was even more than that. He was fluent in a number of languages, wrote drama and poetry and held social and peace issues thought to be radical for his 19th century era.

After a premature obituary was published in 1888, condemning Nobel as the "merchant of death," he decided to leave a better legacy for himself. In his 1895 last will and testament, Dr. Nobel dedicated the majority of his vast wealth to the Nobel Prizes, which would be awarded annually among an International pool of Nobel Laureate candidates. With the exception of the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway, the Nobel Prizes are handed out in Stockholm, Sweden.

The decision to award the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama has many wondering why? Among the number of theories proposed include the fact that America's image has improved significantly in the months following George W. Bush's presidency thanks to Obama's International outreach efforts. Others say that the award is actually a "slap in the face" to Bush from the European establishment who often considered the former president to be arrogant with respect to his foreign policies.

Politics and policies aside, many people worldwide revere the Democratic leader as inspirational. His messages have consistently been of hope and peace, even as America continues to struggle with managing two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, under fears of nuclear stockpiling by Iran and North Korea. The Nobel Committee had this to say:

"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."

Yet, has Obama done enough to warrant the revered Peace Prize?

As noted, Obama is the fourth U.S. president to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Teddy Roosevelt was awarded the prize in 1906, Woodrow Wilson in 1919 and Jimmy Carter in 2002. From that standpoint, he steps into a legacy of well-known, influential leaders. It certainly is impressive on a resume.

And then there's the money... about $1.4 million to be exact. Obama has not stated what he might do with the prize money yet, other than that it will be donated to charity.

Yet, will the global community take the award seriously this time? Even the Nobel Committee members appear to admit that the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded more for what is expected from Obama in the future, rather than specific accomplishments.

The committee stated that it gave "special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons," and wished to honor him for "creat[ing] a new climate in international politics." Its chairman, Thorbjoern Jagland commented:

"Some people say, and I understand it, isn't it premature? Too early? Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now. It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us."

This year's prize was admittedly intended to help build momentum behind the efforts to reduce nuclear arms, raising awareness about global climate change, and use of diplomacy and cooperation (all of which stand in contrast to Bush's policies).

Obama has stated that he will travel to Oslo to accept the award on December 10.

While the debate may continue over Obama's selection for the award, the unfortunate reality is that Dr. Nobel did not explain how the Peace Prize would be chosen. In fact, there are questions over why he even established the prize in the first place. Some experts believe that it was compensation for developing dynamite and ballistite, commonly used for destructive purposes.

Nonetheless, the Peace Prize is unique in that it is often awarded for contemporary achievements, in contrast to the scientific and literary Prizes that are issued years after the event for which they honor. Even though the Nobel Laureate is selected by committee, there can often be controversy. One person's "peace" efforts may not be universally recognized as such.

Debate is not new to the Peace Prize. In fact, when Henry Kissinger received the award, two Nobel Committee members resigned in protest. The awards given to Roosevelt and Wilson also riled some members of the public.

We may never know exactly how or why Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The identity of the nominating individual is secret, unless that person desires to be known. What is known, however, is that the nomination was made the day after Obama was sworn in as President.

The bottom line is that a Peace Prize is laudable, yet not the only defining measure of those individuals and organizations that have worked to achieve peaceful ends, using peaceful means. There's a long list of noted omissions, and of course, another list of those whom some believe should not have received the medal.

Perhaps when it comes to Obama, we should just "agree to disagree" over whether he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

That would be the most amicable thing to do.