Between the years 1901 and 2008, the Nobel Peace Prize has been given to 107 people including former president Jimmy Carter and Martin Luther King Jr.  But on October 9th, Norway anounced the newest member of this list.  President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”  So basicly, he won the prize because he is working hard to try and end wars/fight between nations.  Along with the medal, he will accept 10 million Swedish kronor(or 1.4 million dollars) which he plans to donate to charity(all of it).  The President will leave for Oslo, Norway on December 10(the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death) to receive the prize. 

  What is the Nobel Peace prize?  The Nobel Peace Prize was created by Alfred Nobel, a famous chemist, enginer, and the inventor of dynamite.  So when Alfred chose peace in his will, it was a suprise(and a little ironic).  Yes, I said his will.  The nobel Peace Prize started five years after he died.  He left no reason for picking peace as a prize.

I think this prize winning is a good thing, something to be proud of.  If you go to some other country, you can walk around with with a huge shirt that says in bold letters “HEY!  MY PRESIDENT WON THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!  WHAT NOW?”  Im glad he said “I will accept this award as a call to action”, it was a nice touch.  So congratulations Barack Obama, and good luck.

 

 

http://www.videosift.com/video/Barack-Obama-s-Nobel-Peace-Prize-Acceptance-Speech

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