The Nobel Prize to Carter "can also be interpreted as a criticism of the position" of the US administration, the chairman of the Nobel committee, Gunnar Berge, told reporters just hours after the US Congress gave US President George W. Bush authority to go to war against Iraq.

"In a situation currently marked by threats of the use of power, Carter has stood by the principles that conflicts must as far as possible be resolved through mediation and international co-operation based on international law, respect for human rights, and economic development," the committee said in its citation.

During his presidency between 1977 and 1981, Carter's mediation was "a vital contribution to the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, in itself a great enough achievement to qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize", it said.

"At a time when the cold war between East and West was still predominant, he placed renewed emphasis on the place of human rights in international politics," it said.

Carter has been nominated many times over the years and came close to winning in 1978 when the committee honoured Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin for their peace efforts under his aegis.

According to Berge, the committee had wanted to honour Carter at the time, but his name was not nominated in time for the annual February 1 deadline.

"Through his Carter Center, founded 20 years ago, Carter has since his presidency undertaken "very extensive and persevering conflict resolution on several continents", it said.

"He has shown outstanding commitment to human rights, and has served as an observer at countless elections all over the world. He has worked hard on many fronts to fight tropical diseases and to bring about growth and progress in developing countries. Carter has thus been active in several of the problem areas that have figured prominently in the over one hundred years of Peace Prize history," the committee said.

Carter will receive the award and a prize sum of 10 million kronormillion euros, or 1.07 million dollars) at a ceremony at Oslo's City Hall on December 10, the anniversary of the death of the prize's creator, Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel, in 1896 in San Remo, Italy.

The Peace Prize is the only one of the Nobel Prizes to be announced and awarded in Oslo, with those for literature, medicine, physics, chemistry and economics all announced in Stockholm.

SPACE.WIRE