Obama "humbled" to win Nobel Peace Prize: official

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to applause before speaking at the Summit on Climate Change at the United Nations headquarters in New York in this September 22, 2009 file photo. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2009 for giving the world ''hope for a better future'' with his work for peace and calls to reduce the global stockpile of nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Mike Segar

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to applause before speaking at the Summit on Climate Change at the United Nations headquarters in New York in this September 22, 2009 file photo. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2009 for giving the world ''hope for a better future'' with his work for peace and calls to reduce the global stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Segar

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WASHINGTON | Fri Oct 9, 2009 7:12am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama felt humbled to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a senior administration official said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called before dawn and woke Obama with the news that he had won the prestigious honor which was announced in Oslo at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT). "The president was humbled to be selected by the committee," the official said.

When told in an e-mail from Reuters that many people around the world were stunned by the announcement, Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, responded, "As are we."

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Editing by Jackie Frank)
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