To a hushed throng of reporters, Peter Englund, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy made the announcement.

Romanian-born German writer, author Herta Mueller has won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature (file photo)"TheNobel Prize in literature for 2009 is awarded to the German authorHerta Mueller, who with the concentration of poetry and the franknessof prose depicts the landscape of the dispossessed," he said.

Amember of Romania's ethnic German minority, Mueller knew persecutionunder the rule of the Ceausescu regime. Her work, which was censored bythe then communist government in Romania was smuggled into Germanywhere it received rave reviews.

Eventually in 1987, she emigrated to Germany with her husband.

Herwriting of the harshness of life in a small, German-speaking Romanianvillage spoke of corruption and repression and her fight for freespeech.

Peter Englund calls Mueller a truly phenomenal writer.

"AllNobel Prize laureates are of course special. I think it is acombination of a very, very distinct special language on one hand andthen on the other, she has really a story to tell about growing up in adictatorship but also growing up as a minority in another country andalso growing up sort of a stranger for your own family. It is a verystrong; very, very strong story to tell," he said.

The 56-year-old writer is said to be overjoyed with winning the prize.

Some say the award this year also represents a nod to the 20th anniversary of communism's collapse in Europe.

Muelleris the third European in a row to win the prize and the 10th German totake it. She is also the 12th woman to capture the top literature award.

The writer also collects a prize of $1.4 million from the Nobel committee.