2009 Nobel Peace Prize said, "As Americans, we're proud when our president receives an award of that prestigious category". RNC chairman Michael Steele discussed his disapproval of the award in a fund-raising letter, writing, "the Democrats and their international leftist allies want America made subservient to the agenda of global redistribution and control." In 2015, Geir Lundestad, the non-voting Director of the Nobel Institute and secretary for the Nobel Committee at the time of the award, published a memoir, "Secretary of Peace". In it, he wrote "In hindsight, we could say that the argument of giving Obama a helping hand was only partially correct.
2010 Nobel Peace Prize who, sometimes with great personal sacrifice, are struggling for freedom and human rights." The Polish foreign ministry said it was appreciative of the decision to award Liu. Japan greeted the award and emphasised the need for respect of human rights, but did not call for Liu's release; Premier Naoto Kan told a parliamentary committee Liu's release was "desirable". The Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, said Australia was strongly against Liu's imprisonment, and "welcome[d] the fact that his work has been recognised internationally now with the Nobel Peace Prize", while the Australian Greens leader Bob Brown described the decision as "inspiring".