President Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

President Barack Obama, a Law School alumnus, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, particularly for his work on nuclear weapons.

Stunningly early in his young administration, President Barack H. Obama, J.D. '91, was today awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize announcement cited the president "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," with particular emphasis on his efforts to reduce risks from nuclear weapons. The Nobel news release is here; it read, in part:

Obama has as President 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. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the U.S.A. is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.


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. 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.

Sub topics

You might also like

Veteran MIT Administrator Named University Secretary

Suzanne Glassburn will manage the work of the Corporation and Board of Overseers.

FAS Dean Outlines Preparations for Loss of Federal Funding

“To preserve our mission, we must act now,” Hoekstra says at faculty meeting

The 2025 Pulitzer Prizes Announced

Winners across five categories, from commentary on Gaza to criticism on public architecture

Most popular

Rebecca Henderson: Does Capitalism Need to be Reimagined?

How to reform capitalism to confront climate change and extreme inequality, with economist and McArthur University Professor Rebecca Henderson

The New Gender Gaps

What to do as men and boys fall behind

Danielle Allen Debates Far-Right Blogger Curtis Yarvin

Popular monarchist debates Allen on democracy.

Explore More From Current Issue

The Trump Administration's Impact on Higher Education

Unprecedented federal actions against research funding, diversity, speech, and more

Restaurant Recommendations Cambridge 2025

Tastes from Cambridge’s eclectic restaurants

The Estate Behind Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park

Park offers art, nature, and history in New Hampshire