How did Obama win the Nobel Prize?

Murray Hunter


How did Obama win the Nobel Prize?


Mar 11, 2026






This is a question I had been thinking about for almost 25 years. I also witnessed a few other peace prizes awarded to parties I questioned. This includes The European Union in 2012, Muhammad Yunus in 2006, and The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore in 2007.

Frankly my respect for the award has waned over the years.

Back to Barak Obama.

Barack Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” according to the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee. The Norwegian Nobel Committee specifically highlighted his focus on nuclear nonproliferation, fostering a new climate in international relations, and promoting multilateral diplomacy.

Obama was credited with shifting US foreign policy toward dialogue and cooperation, aiming to move away from unilateralism. He championed the vision of a world free from nuclear weapons, stimulating new negotiation. The committee recognized his administration’s active engagement in addressing global climate challenges. He was recognized for improving the United States’ image and relations globally, particularly within the Muslim world.

Technically Barak Obama did all of this within the first 9 days of his presidency, as nominations for each year’s Nobel Prize award close on January 31.

Barak Obama’s Nobel Prize was a recognition of his stated goals and the shift in tone rather than anything he accomplished. On the Nobel Prize’s own website entry for “Barak Obama”, it says “inspires hope for a better future”. The prize was obviously awarded on expectation rather than action.

This is what tarnished the prize for at least me. It was a prize awarded on hope rather than achievement.

Ironically, during Obama’s 2 terms in office as US President he stepped up drone attacks killing innocent people including US citizens. There are also many human rights questions about the US intervention of Libya in 2011. Obama also kept Guantanamo Bay prison open.

Obama used drones extrajudicially to kill

In 2009 there was 209 other nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize that Obama won. Some others that were nominated included Piedad Córdoba, a Colombian senator Known for hostage negotiations and peace efforts in Colombia’s civil conflict; often seen as a favorite, Sima Samar, Afghan human rights activist, who was head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and UN envoy on human rights in Darfur, who was praised for women’s rights advocacy in a war-torn region. Others included Hu Jia, a Chinese dissident was is an imprisoned activist focused on human rights and environmental issues in China and Morgan Tsvangirai, a Zimbabwean opposition leader/Prime Minister and longtime challenger to Robert Mugabe’s regime, enduring persecution for promoting democracy.

Was there an Epstein connection?

Over the last month, there has been speculation that contacts between the late convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Thorbjørn Jagland, which included Epstein hosting Jagland at his New York, Paris, and Palm Beach properties, that Epstein played a major role in pushing for Obama’s nomination for the Nobel Prize. Jagland was the chairman of the Nobel Prize Committee at the time it was awarded to Obama.

Epstein provided Jagland with luxury stays and trips, there are claims that Jagland was an “Epstein Island regular”, implying this relationship cast doubt on the integrity of Obama’s award.

Obama’s prize was awarded in October 2009, early in Jagland’s chairmanship and suggest Epstein’s influence may have played a role. Jagland was the “driving force” behind Obama’s controversial 2009 award, which was criticized as premature since Obama had been in office less than 2 weeks. The New York Times has just written a deep dive into the Epstein and Jagland relationship.

However, the evidence is only suggestive. The Epstein files indicate that Epstein and Jagland had a “close association,” with Jagland appearing hundreds of times in the Epstein files. Epstein referred to him as “the Nobel big shot” and leveraged the connection to entice figures like Bill Gates (who met with Jagland alongside Epstein in 2013), Larry Summers, Steve Bannon, and Richard Branson.

Bill Gates, Terje Rød-Larsen, Jeffrey Epstein, former Gates scientific advisor Boris Nikolic and Thorbjørn Jagland [Epstein files]


In February 2026, Norwegian authorities have opened a probe into Jagland on suspicion of “aggravated corruption” related to his Epstein connections. His diplomatic immunity was waived, and police searched his homes in Oslo, Risør, and Rauland. Jagland has cooperated, stating he wants the case “thoroughly clarified.” This has fueled the rumors, with some claiming it exposes the Nobel process’s vulnerabilities.

Jagland was reportedly hospitalized in late February following a suicide attempt a few days after he was charged with gross corruption linked to his relationship with the late Epstein.

Jagland has been under great criticism for the role he played in the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barak Obama in 2009 and the European Union in 2012. Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote in an open letter with two other former laureates complaining about the award of the Peace Prize to the EU. He was demoted in an unprecedented move from the chairman’s position in 2015.

To date, these are only conspiracy claims without any solid substantiation. Obama’s award remains officially attributed to his early diplomatic efforts, and the Nobel Committee has not revisited it.

I am still wondering.

Obama’s Nobel Prize speech could have been written by a George Bush speech writer.