MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded U.S. President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples."
Since the first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901, incumbent state leaders have won the prize for various reasons:
- In 2000, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung received the award "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular."
- In 1994, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (along with Shimon Peres) were recognized "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East."
- In 1993, South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk, along with Nelson Mandela, were awarded "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa."
- In 1990, Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded "for his leading role in the peace process which today characterizes important parts of the international community."
- In 1987, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez was recognized "for his work for peace in Central America, efforts which led to the accord signed in Guatemala on August 7 this year."
- In 1978, Egyptian President Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were awarded "for the Camp David Agreement, which brought about a negotiated peace between Egypt and Israel."
- In 1971, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Willy Brandt was awarded "for West Germany's Ostpolitik", which caused an easing of tensions between West and East.
- In 1926, French Prime Minister Aristide Briand and German Lord High Chancellor Gustav Stresemann were awarded as part-originators of the Locarno Pact, and for friendly dialogue between France and Germany after many years of mistrust.
- In 1921, Swedish Prime Minister Karl Hjalmar Branting was recognized for his work in the League of Nations.
- In 1919, U.S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson was awarded as the founder of the League of Nations, and for his promotion of fundamental humanitarian law in contemporary international policy.
- In 1906, the U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was recognized "for his successful mediation to end the Russo-Japanese war and for his interest in arbitration, having provided the Hague arbitration court with its very first case."
