Nobel Peace Committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland demoted

In an unprecedented decision, the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee has just announced the termination of Thorbjoern Jagland's role as Chairman but will allow him to continue as a member of the committee.

Mr. Thorbjoern Jagland (left) presented the award to OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu at the award ceremony on December 10, 2013. Source: AFP/TTXVN

The announcement of the Committee above stated that after 6 years as Chairman of the Nobel Peace Committee, Mr. Jagland will be replaced by his deputy, Mr. Kaci Kullman Five, but did not explain the reason.

Mr. Kullman Five said there was a high consensus within the Committee that Mr. Jagland “was a good Chairman for six years.” However, Mr. Kullman Five would not comment on discussions surrounding this issue.

According to the French news agency AFP, famous diplomat and former Norwegian Prime Minister Jagland was harshly criticized after his decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama in 2009 when Obama had been in office for less than 9 months and at that time, the US was also conducting two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr. Jagland affirmed that the organization he heads wants to praise Mr. Obama for "speaking early on about a world without nuclear weapons, capturing the spirit of the times and the needs of the present era."

However, a US study last year estimated the country will spend $1 trillion upgrading its nuclear arsenal over the next three decades.

According to Vietnam+