The announcement drew gasps of surprise and cries of too much, too soon. Yet President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday because the judges found his promise of disarmament and diplomacy too good to ignore.

The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee — four of whom spoke to The Associated Press, said awarding Obama the peace prize could be seen as an early vote of confidence intended to build global support for the policies of his young administration.

They lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease US conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen its role in combating climate change.

"Some people say — and I understand it — 'Isn't it premature? Too early?' Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now," Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, told the AP. It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us."

In Bermuda last night there was support for the awarding of the global honour to the US President.

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown said: "We live in a world that has become increasingly fragmented. Yet, it is also true that all of us as global citizens share a common bond of humanity. President Obama has recognised both those realities.

"He has taken bold steps to reach out to world leaders and ask them to join with an America that is now committed to engagement, not isolation; to nuclear disarmament by all, and not nuclear weapons for a few. For that outstanding vision and leadership, he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize."

United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan said: "I was pleasantly surprised that President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize before he has completed his first term of office. But who can argue with how he was able to move the world to a higher plane and navigate through the politics of polarisation with a message of unity, hope and change that made people celebrate their humanity.

"Obama's message of hope did capture the imagination of the entire world and the spirit felt at his inauguration in January 2009 punctuated a candidacy that crossed all racial and ethnic barriers. This award actually raises the bar for him to build on the hope."

Deputy leader of the United Bermuda Party Trevor Moniz said: "My reaction is like everyone else's reaction. It's good news to hear that the positive initiatives that President Obama has started have been recognised but clearly none of them have reached fruition with respect climate change, or a nuclear free world, or peace in the Middle East or Afghanistan. Nothing is anywhere near being achieved. It's almost as if they've given him this as encouragement to carry on. I hope it does encourage him to continue and to succeed."

Amani Flood, who headed the Bermuda4Barack campaign during the presidential election last year, said: "I am thrilled. I think it means for the world that we're starting to have a new criteria for the people that we want to honour. Barack Obama has really inspired people in so many ways and hope is a commodity. Some people are saying he hasn't really done anything and he hasn't had the time. Other people may have done substantially more by putting their hands to the cause, but Barack Obama has inspired the world to think differently and react differently to the same stimulus. He's trying to build bridges and mend fences and reach across the aisle to people who in the past may have been considered persona non grata. It may take time but it's a turning point."

In Norway Mr. Jagland said the Norwegian Nobel Committee whittled down a record pool of 205 nominations and had "several candidates until the last minute," but it became more obvious that "we couldn't get around these deep changes that are taking place" under Obama.

Obama said he was surprised and deeply humbled by the honor, and planned to travel to Oslo in December to accept the prize.

"Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations," he said at the White House. "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 honored by this prize."

Obama will donate the $1.4 million cash award that comes with the prize to charity.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who won the prize in 1984, said the decision showed that great things are expected from Obama and "wonderful recognition" of his effort to reach out to the Arab world after years of hostility.

"It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama's message of hope," Tutu said.

Many were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in a presidency that began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline for the prize and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.

"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is only beginning to act," said former Polish President Lech Walesa, who won the peace prize in 1983.

Some around the world objected to the choice of Obama, who still oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has launched deadly counterterrorism strikes in Pakistan and Somalia.

Jagland told AP that while the war in Afghanistan was a concern, the Obama administration "immediately started to reassess the strategy."

"That itself is important, because when something goes wrong, then you need to ask yourself why is it going wrong," he said.

Obama said he was working to end the war in Iraq and "to confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people and our allies" in Afghanistan, where he is seriously considering increasing the number of US troops on the ground and asking for help from others as the war enters its ninth year.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi in Afghanistan condemned the Nobel committee's decision, saying Obama had only escalated the war and had "the blood of the Afghan people on his hands."

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called the Nobel decision "hasty."

Aagot Valle, a lawmaker for the Socialist Left party who joined the Nobel committee this year, said she hoped the selection would be viewed as "support and a commitment for Obama."

"And I hope it will be an inspiration for all those that work with nuclear disarmament and disarmament," she told AP in a rare interview. Members of the committee usually speak only through its chairman.

The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts, but Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than those of past winners, and the committee acknowledged they may not bear fruit at all.

"If everything goes wrong, then one cannot say that this was because of Barack Obama," Jagland said. "It could be that it is because of us, all the others, that didn't respond. But I cannot exclude that Barack Obama also can contribute to the eventual failure."

Obama is the third sitting US president to win the award: President Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919.

l Further reaction – see Overseas News, Page 6