In Oslo, Norway, the Nobel Committee announced that President Barack Obama had earned the Nobel Peace Prize, due to his focus on multilateralism and international diplomacy since his inauguration in January.

The announcement in Norway stunned members of the White House. “There has been no discussion, nothing at all,” said Rahm Emanuel, the president’s chief of staff. Mr Emanuel had yet to speak to the President, though White House press secretary Robert Gibbs rang the President’s chamber, reportedly rousing him from slumber a little before 6am EST according to various news reports, to tell him of his win.

Though reports from senior officials state he was humbled by his win, an official comment has yet to be released.

Since making headlines as America’s first African-American president, Mr. Obama persistently tried to create a world without nuclear weapons and improve relations between America and former international enemies. He’s spoken to many leaders in the Middle East, as well as leading towards initiating talks between Israel and Palestine.

“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,” the committee said about his win. “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.”

Though President Obama is trying hard to mend relationships between America and various international entities, many of his policies have yet to have an effect. North Korea has shunned his authority and tested missiles, while Iran is considering restarting nuclear talks.

The last president to win the Peace Prize was Jimmy Cater in 2002, though it was thought he might win during 1978 after brokering a historic peace deal between Egypt and Israel. Previous presidents awarded the award during office are Theodore Roosevelet in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Other notable American recipients of the Nobel Peace Prizeare Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry Kissinger.

Thorbjorn Jagland, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and former prime minister of Norway, said the president had already given enough to international diplomacy to deserve the award.

“We are not awarding the prize for what may happen in the future, but for what he has done in the previous year,” Mr. Jagland said. “We would hope this will enhance what he is trying to do.”

The prize comes at a time where Obama is attempting to revive America’s health care system, as well as debating over whether or not to send reinforcements to Afghanistan to wrestle with ongoing problems there.

Republicans believe that Mr. Obama has become to much of an international superstar and that this prize might prove a diplomatic liability. Some might also think that he would be unwilling to supply more troops simply because he’d rather resolve issues verbally rather than forcefully.

In a speech in Cairo, President Obama stated “I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, to seek common ground.”

Conservative politicians such as Dick Cheney believe that his speeches might some day incite America’s enemies to attack us once again, while the Nobel committee thinks differently.

“Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics,” the committee stated. “Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play.”

The prize, equal to about $1.4 million, will be awarded in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 2009.