Nobel secretary regrets Obama peace prize

The Obama administration’s rush to override Congress’ bipartisan anti-Iran treaty majority will give Secretary of State John Kerry and/or President Barack Obama, again, the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, just in time for the mid-October Peace Prize award in Oslo, Norway.

Lundestad, who served as committee’s secretary and director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute for 25 years, describes a shift of power in recent years, from the committees charged with selecting prize winners to the Stockholm-based Nobel Foundation, which is charged with managing and placing the money that Alfred Nobel donated for the prizes.

Mr Obama himself said he was surprised and even some of his supporters thought it a mistake, Mr Lundestad said. While the prize was created to encourage the new president, it may have not have worked out as intended.

The secretive Nobel Peace Prize committee has accused its former secretary of a breach of trust by revealing details about its proceedings in a book published last week. He also noted that Mr Obama rarely mentions the prize.

Meanwhile, when the institute announced the award, it was met with fierce criticism in the U.S. , where many argued that Obama had not been president long enough to have an impact worthy of the Nobel.

“In hindsight, we could say that the argument of giving Obama a helping hand was only partially correct.”

The White House quickly realised that they needed to travel to Oslo, he added.

Barack Obama with Thorbjørn Jagland at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

“In broad strokes, the answer was no”.

Jagland declined to comment, said Daniel Holtgen, his spokesman at the Council of Europe.

However, at a press conference on Thursday, Lundestad denied media reports that he “regretted” the decision and that the award was a “mistake”. “A number of of you’ve got written that I consider the prize to Obama a mistake, however you then can’t have learn the e-book”, Lundestad advised reporters, . But in the book Lundestad also fired a parting shot at Thorbjorn Jagland who was the committee chairman for six years and is now a regular member.