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The Norwegian Nobel Committee conferred to U.S. President Barack Obama the 2009 Nobel Prize, barely nine months into his presidency. Obama was honored by the committee for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

The president, who had to be awakened to be told of the news, said he was humbled by the recognition. Administration officials said he’ll be making his statement on Friday at 10:30 ET from the Rose Garden.

Obama was only the third sitting U.S. president to win the peace prize. The last time was with Woodrow Wilson in 1919, and before that was by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Jimmy Carter is already out of office for more than two decades when he won the award in 2002.

Many were surprised by the decision of the committee, as Obama wasn’t even mentioned as among the front-runners for the prize. Many were stunned when Nobel committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland announced Obama’s name.

The committee recognizes Obama’s efforts to solve complex global problems, including working toward a world free of nuclear weapons. “Only 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,” it said.

While many were delighted, there were also some who were not really ‘amused,’ saying that Obama was recognized prematurely for his efforts, adding that the committee only wanted to promote the president just like it did to Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 in his efforts to open up the Soviet Union.

Jagland defended the committee’s decision, saying “His [Obama] diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.” He hoped that the prize would help Obama resolve the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.