WASHINGTON - World leaders and Nobel laureates congratulated US President Barack Obama on winning the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, after the shock announcement by the Nobel Institute in Oslo.

The award, coming less than nine months into Obama’s presidency, was hailed by most as recognition of the president’s bold moves to reduce conflict in the world, and in some quarters as a premature, political gesture.

From the White House, ahead of a speech later in the day, word came that the president felt “humbled” by the award.

Leading the praise from Oslo immediately after the announcement was Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who said that it was “an important prize” that “could help contribute to make the president’s visions into effect”.

Nelson Mandela, who won the Peace Prize in 1993 for negotiating an end to Apartheid in South Africa, called on the US leader to use the prize to help fight poverty.

“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.”

In Europe, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso all added their words of congratulation.

The prize “recognises … the return of America to the hearts of the peoples of the world”, the French president said, in an allusion to the divisiveness of Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush.

Chancellor Merkel said that Obama “has managed in a short time to establish a new tone and a willingness to talk worldwide.

“We should all support him. He has opened a window of opportunity.”

In Italy, Berlusconi, who in the past has drawn criticism for describing Obama as “tanned”, said he and his conservative cabinet broke into “earnest applause” when, during a meeting, they received news of the award.

Former Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa however expressed openly the surprise that had been felt in many quarters at such a rapid accolade for the relatively new American head of state.

“He is proposing, he’s started, but he still must act,” said Walesa, who led the Solidarity movement which ultimately helped to topple communism.

“We’ll see if he does what he proposes,” Walesa said. “Sometimes the Nobel committee (awards the prize) as a way of encouragement into action.”

Obama’s administration last month cancelled a controversial missile defence programme, part of which was to have been hosted in Poland, that had greatly contributed to tension between the US and Russia in Europe.

The US president’s commitment to a nuclear-weapon-free world has also won him plaudits.

“The award of the prize to President Obama, leader of the most significant military power in the world, at the beginning of his mandate, is a reflection of the hopes he has raised globally with his vision of a world without nuclear weapons,” Jose Manuel Barroso said.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen added his voice, saying that Obama had “demonstrated his strong commitment to help build peace and defend fundamental human rights, including through the Atlantic Alliance”.

News of the honour for Obama was delighting the citizens of Kogelo village in western Kenya, where members of the Obama family live.

“We are very proud about the award for Barack. This is a great honour,” Obama’s uncle Said Obama, enthused.

Leaders in India, Zimbabwe, Israel, Palestine, Philippines, and Japan also greeted Obama’s award.