Johannesburg - Former South African President Nelson Mandela congratulated US President Barack Obama Friday on being the surprise winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, and called on Obama to use the honour to fight against poverty. The Nelson Mandela Foundation, in a statement issued on behalf of the 91-year-old anti-apartheid icon, said it "welcomes the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama."
"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."
Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for resisting white minority rule, was also quick to congratulate Obama on becoming the United States first black president in January.
Obama's late father was Kenyan.
