Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Ahtisaari | |
|---|---|
Ahtisaari in 1994 | |
| 10th President of Finland | |
| In office 1 March 1994 – 1 March 2000 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Mauno Koivisto |
| Succeeded by | Tarja Halonen |
| Ambassador of Finland to Tanzania | |
| In office 1973–1977 | |
| Preceded by | Seppo Pietinen |
| Succeeded by | Richard Müller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari 23 June 1937 Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, Russia) |
| Died | 16 October 2023 (aged 86) Helsinki, Finland |
| Resting place | Hietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki |
| Party | Social Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Marko |
| Alma mater | University of Oulu |
| Awards | Nobel Peace Prize (2008) |
| Signature | |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Finnish Army |
| Rank | Captain |
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (Finnish: [ˈmɑrtːi (ˈoi̯ʋɑ ˈkɑleʋi) ˈɑhtisɑːri] ⓘ, 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician and diplomat who was the 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". The Nobel statement said that Ahtisaari had played a prominent role in resolving serious and long-lasting conflicts, including ones in Namibia, Aceh (Indonesia), Kosovo and Serbia, and Iraq.