President Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," said Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in a press conference in Oslo, Norway.

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extend as Obama captured the world's attention attention and given its people hope for a better future," said Chairman Thorbjørn Jagland during the press conference.

In a press conference at the White House, Obama said he was "surprised and deeply humbled" of the decision.

"I do not view it as recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership," Obama said.

Obama is the third sitting U.S. president, fourth overall, to receive the award according to a CNN report.

President Theodore Roosevelt received the award in 1906, President Wilson in 1919 and President Carter in 2002.

The prize includes $1.4 million.