On October 9, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced they were awarding the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. President Barack Obama, news that even shocked the White House!

The announcement that Barack Obama was receiving the prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," has been met with both praise and criticism.

Those praising the award point to the President's efforts at diplomacy and his work towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Critics say the honor was awarded too quickly, as Obama has only been in office for nine months and had to be nominated by the February 1st, 2009 deadline, mere weeks after he took office.

The prize carries with it a $1.4 million award, which the White House says the President will give to unspecified charities.  President Obama will be in Oslo, Norway on December 10th to accept the award.