Martti Ahtisaari

Martti Ahtisaari
Ahtisaari in 1994
10th President of Finland
In office
1 March 1994 – 1 March 2000
Prime Minister
  • Esko Aho
  • Paavo Lipponen
Preceded byMauno Koivisto
Succeeded byTarja Halonen
Ambassador of Finland to Tanzania
In office
1973–1977
Preceded bySeppo Pietinen
Succeeded byRichard Müller
Personal details
Born
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari

(1937-06-23)23 June 1937
Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, Russia)
Died16 October 2023(2023-10-16) (aged 86)
Helsinki, Finland
Resting placeHietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki
Political partySocial Democratic
Spouse
Eeva Hyvärinen
(m. 1968)
ChildrenMarko
Alma materUniversity of Oulu
AwardsNobel Peace Prize (2008)
Signature
Military service
Branch/serviceFinnish Army
RankCaptain

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (Finnish: [ˈmɑrtːi (ˈoi̯ʋɑ ˈkɑleʋi) ˈɑhtisɑːri] , 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician and diplomat who was the tenth president of Finland from 1994 to 2000. He was Finland's Ambassador to Tanzania from 1973 to 1977 and United Nations Commissioner for Namibia from 1977 to 1981. Noted for his international peace work, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.

Ahtisaari was a United Nations special envoy for Kosovo, charged with organizing the Kosovo status process negotiations. These negotiations aimed to resolve a long-running dispute in Kosovo, which later declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. In October 2008, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts".[1] The Nobel statement said that Ahtisaari had played a prominent role in resolving serious and long-lasting conflicts, including ones in Namibia, Aceh (Indonesia),[2] Kosovo and Serbia, and Iraq.[3]

  1. ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2008". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  2. ^ "Ahtisaari, Tuomioja, Haavisto weigh in on Syria" Archived 17 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine, yle.fi, 3 August 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  3. ^ Bryant, Lisa (10 October 2008). "Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari Wins Nobel Peace Prize". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2008.