2010 Nobel Prize Announcements

2010-10-08 10:28

Norwegian Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said on Friday that the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate will be a very controversial choice.

When asked by Norwegian commercial broadcaster TV2 whether he would have to defend the choice of laureate as much as he had to defend last year's controversial pick of US President Barack Obama, Jagland said "Yes, definitely".

"You'll understand when you hear the name," he said.

On Thursday, Jagland told Norwegian public television NRK that for him, the right laureate became clear very early in the process.

Last year, the Nobel Committee stunned the world and the recipient alike by awarding the honour to US President Barack Obama, who had been in office less than nine months, and while the United States was waging simultaneous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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