Obama, only the third sitting U.S. president to win the prestigious award, will travel to Oslo in December to accept the prize in person. The White House says Obama will donate the full balance of the prize — $1.4 million — to charity but they did not say which charity, or charities, he has chosen.
The news that Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize came as a surprise even to the White House. Press aides said they had heard from news reports weeks ago that the president had been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, but they do not believe Obama himself knew of his nomination.
The deadline for nominations is Feb. 1, meaning the president was nominated after being in office for just 11 days.
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