Barack Obama, US president, won the Nobel Peace Prize to mixed world reaction. Here are some responses for governments around the world to the Nobel committee’s pick.
 | In Iran, an aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad said: “We hope that this gives him the incentive to walk in the path of bringing justice to the world order. We are not upset and we hope that by receiving this prize he will start taking practical steps to remove injustice in the world.” |
 | In Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas prime minister, said: ”Unless real and deep-rooted change is made in American policy towards recognising the rights of the Palestinian people, I would think such a prize would be useless.” |
| Chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed the decision and said he hoped that Mr Obama would “be able to achieve peace in the Middle East”. |
 | Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a note of congratulations to Obama, saying, “You have already inspired so many people around the world, and I know that this award also expresses the hope that your Presidency will usher in a new era of peace and reconciliation.” |
| Israeli pesident Shimon Peres, himself the 1994 winner of the Nobel Prize said that thanks to Mr Obama “peace became a real and original agenda.” |
| Israel’s Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin said, “it’s very strange that Obama won,” adding ”it is possible that he might force Israel into a peace deal now that he has won the award.” |
 | Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has also “applauded the award.” |
 | Former Soviet leader and fellow Nobel laureate Mikhail Gorbachev said, “I am happy. What Obama did during his presidency is a big signal, he gave hope. In these hard times people who are capable of taking responsibility, who have a vision, commitment and political will should be supported.” |
 | The Nelson Mandela Foundation praised the decision saying: “We trust that this award will strengthen his commitment, as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, to continue promoting peace and the eradication of poverty.” |
 | Zimbabwe’s prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who was also a nominee for the prize this year and a favourite to win, told Reuters that Mr Obama was an “extraordinary example”. |
 | The 1993 winner, former Polish president Lech Walesa, simply said, “So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act.” |
 | Fellow nominee,
French president Nicolas Sarkozy, quickly offered his congratulations to Mr Obama, saying the award “does justice to your vision of tolerance and dialogue between states, cultures and civilisations”. |
 | According to a spokesman
British prime minister Gordon Brown sent a private message of congratulations. |
 | The secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, said, “We are entering an era of renewed multilateralism, a new era where the challenges facing humankind demand global common cause and uncommon global effort. President Obama embodies the new spirit of dialogue and engagement on the world’s biggest problems: climate change, nuclear disarmament and a wide range of peace and security challenges.” He continued, “His commitment to work through the United Nations gives the world’s people fresh hope and fresh prospects. We at the United Nations applaud him and the Nobel committee for its choice. The Secretary-General looks forward to deepening the US-UN partnership as a key building block to a better and safer world for all.” |
 | Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, “This honour is well deserved.” |
