Iranian lawyer Ms Shirin Ebadi has won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in defending human rights and promoting democracy.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Ms Ebadi, Iran's first woman judge before the Islamic revolution forced her to step down, for work focused on the rights of women and children.
Ms Ebadi won from a record field of 165 candidates including Pope John Paul and former Czech President Vaclav Havel.
"She sees no contradiction between Islam and fundamental human rights," the head of the committee Mr Ole Danbold Mjoes said in the prize citations.
The prize is worth 10 million Swedish crowns (€1.1 million) and will be handed out in Oslo on December 10th.
Ms Ebadi is only the 11th woman to win since the prize was set up in 1901. She won a separate human rights prize in Norway in 2001, the Rafto Prize.
"In my country, Iran, there is still a continued struggle for democracy and human rights," she wrote this year."Iranian people want to reform their political and legal system," she said. "They are protesting against the few people who have power."
Nobel watchers say that the five-member committee, which comprises three women, probably chose Ms Ebadi as a way of promoting change, rather than rewarding the ailing pope or to Mr Havel for a lifetime of peace work.