U.S. President Barack Obama expressed surprise over winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize but said he accepted the honour as a call to action. He said was humbled to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in a decision that stunned the world.

"I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee. Let me be clear, I do not view it as recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations," President Obama said.

Addressing White House Correspondents this afternoon on October 9, President Obama said he did not see it as a confirmation of his achievements, neither did he feel he should be in the company of people who have inspired peace, they being an inspiration to him as well.

He said: "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

President Obama joins four other American presidents, who have been awarded the peace prize, but no other received it in the first year of his presidency; Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Woodrow Wilson in 1919 and Jimmy Carter in 2002. Vice President Al Gore won in 2007.

"To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honoured by this prize, men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace," President Obama said.

The U.S. President called for disarmament, worked to restart the stalled Middle East peace process, has opened diplomatic doors to countries like Iran and vowed to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison.

President Obama got the Nobel news on the same day he was to meet top war advisers to determine whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Winner of the 1984 Peace Prize

Previous winners of the Nobel Peace Prize congratulated President Obama after being awarded the accolade for 2009.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was recognised by the Nobel committee in 1984 for his efforts in fighting apartheid, noted the significance of the announcement.

"He's the first African American president of the United States. He's the first in a very long time, incumbent president of the United States being awarded the Noble Peace Prize," Archbishop Tutu said.

President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for offering the world hope and striving for nuclear disarmament in a surprise award that drew both warm praise and sharp criticism.

The president has been in office for less than nine months, and has yet to score a major foreign policy success, but Tutu said the short duration of Obama's regime should not be seen as a negative.

"In a very large part, it is to say to President Obama, you have started so wonderfully well, you have reduced the temperature in the world," Archbishop Tutu said.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

The first African-American to hold his country's highest office, Obama, 48, has called for disarmament and worked to restart stalled Middle East peace moves since taking office in January.

"Very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said in a citation.

"I think the Nobel Peace committee have been very, they've been brave but they are also saying, I mean, that the world is waiting for a leadership that is going to say, we are not going to be wasting money as much on armaments as we used to. We want to reduce these things," said Tutu.

Despite problems at home that include high unemployment, the U.S. president is still widely seen around the world as an inspirational figure.

Wyclef Jean Music Artist and Producer

International music artist Wyclef Jean said in Nairobi today that the President's win was "great", and a good signal for America.

"You have to understand that President Obama has not been in office that long and I think people need to respect him much more than they do, back in the States they expect him to do things in such a short time after George Bush took eight years to mess it up totally," said Jean, who is scheduled to host MTV Africa Music Awards in the Kenyan capital on Saturday, October 10.

Obama's win was also warmly welcomed by the winner of the 2005 Peace Prize, Mohamed El-Baradei who is the Head of International Atomic Energy Agency.

Mohamed El-Baradei said he was "absolutely delighted and could not have thought of any other person today that was more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama".

Addressing the critics who said giving the prize to Obama was premature and undeserved, El-Baradei said that in inspiring "every one of us", the U.S. President had already "done in 9 months what many people would take a generation to do."

In Iraq and Afghanistan, however, the Nobel news received a mixed response.

Kabul resident Mamuddin Kofi condemned the U.S. President for failing to take any positive steps in his Afghan policy.

"American troops invaded our country and Obama supports this; the U.S. war planes continue bombing our houses, killing innocent women and children and destroying our homes," he said.

Mohamed El-Baradei Winner of the 2005 Peace Prize and Head of International Atomic Energy Agency

Afghan Member of Parliament Shokria Barekzai suggested that given Obama's lack of progress in Afghanistan and the Middle East, the award was political, and concerned with pleasing the Americans.

In Baghdad, the U.S. President was both criticised over U.S. policy in Iraq, and praised for his efforts to reach out to the Muslim world.

"Mr. Obama deserves this prize because he is making efforts, he is the first U.S. President who visited Egypt and visited Iraq and made the first interview with an Arabic TV channel immediately after winning the U.S. presidency. He is making good efforts on the Palestinian issue, in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Raed Mohamed in the Iraqi capital.

"This Nobel prize must be awarded to a person who deserves it, a man who provides security and peace for the whole world, not a man who destroyed Iraq," countered Rabee Mahdi.

Speaking in Washington, Obama said the award would be accepted as a "call to action" for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century.

The prize worth 10 Million Swedish Crowns [1.4 million U.S. dollars] will be handed out in Oslo on December 10.