Former President of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari died on Monday at the age of 86. This was announced by the Finnish President’s office. “It is with great sadness that we received the news of the death of President Martti Ahtisaari,” wrote President Sauli Niinisto.
Ahtisaari was a peacemaker during his lifetime, whose efforts were rewarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. His greatest achievements included Namibia’s independence from South Africa in 1990, helping to resolve the conflict in Indonesia’s Aceh province in 2005, and peace negotiations in Kosovo in 1999 and 2007.
The social democrat Ahtisaari was President of Finland from 1994 to 2000. During his term in office, the country joined the European Union. “Ahtisaari believed in humanity, civilization and goodness. He lived a great and important life,” writes his successor Niinisto. “He was president in times of change that led Finland into the era of a global European Union.”
When his term as Finnish president ended, Ahtisaari decided not to run for a second term. Instead, he founded a nonprofit organization that attempts to resolve violent conflicts through informal discussions and mediation.
Athisaari, who studied education, began his career as a primary school teacher in Finland and Pakistan before joining the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He became ambassador to several African countries, including Tanzania and Zambia. Athisaari spent most of his life abroad. From 1978 onwards he held several positions at the United Nations.
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari was born on June 23, 1937 in Viipuri, which is now Vyborg, Russia. The family was forced to flee when war broke out in 1939. In 2021, Ahtisaari retired from public life due to Alzheimer’s disease. He leaves behind his wife Eeva and a son.