Martti Ahtisaari

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a former President of Finland (1994–2000), a United Nations diplomat and mediator noted for his international peace work, and the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize.

I think it's a disgrace for the international community that we have allowed so many conflicts to become frozen, and we are not making a serious effort to solve them.

Quotes

You have to be rather straightforward with your clients. You can't tell the parties only nice things.

• I think it's a disgrace for the international community that we have allowed so many conflicts to become frozen, and we are not making a serious effort to solve them.
  • Telephone interview with Adam Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Nobelprize.org (10 October 2008)

• It's very important to be able to act properly. You need financing, and you never have enough.
  • On his plans to use the Nobel Prize money to help fund peace organisations he has worked with, quoted in "Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize" in BBC News (10 October 2008)

• Since I know that about a million people have been killed by the government of Iraq, I do not need much those weapons of mass destruction.
  • Defending the US government decision to invade Iraq, as quoted in "Nobel Finn" in Wall Street Journal (11 October 2008)

• During the next 10 years about 1.2 billion young 15-to-30-year-olds will be entering the job market and with the means now at our disposal about 300 million will get a job. What will we offer these young, about a billion of them? — or will we leave them to be recruited by criminal leagues and terrorists? … I think this is one of the greatest challenges if we want to achieve peaceful development and hope for these young.
  • Interview with Finnish YLE TV, quoted in "Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young" in International Herald Tribune (11 October 2008)

• You have to be rather straightforward with your clients. You can't tell the parties only nice things. This is not an entertainment show; it's not reality television either.
  • On working in peace negotiations, as quoted in "Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young" in International Herald Tribune (11 October 2008)

External links

• Martti Ahtisaari's homepage
• Profile at the official Nobel Prize site
• Profile at BBC News
• Martti Ahtisaari's Project Syndicate op/eds
• "Former Finnish President Wins Nobel Peace Prize" The New York Times (10 October 2008)
• Conflict Resolution Marked Career of Nobel Laureate Martti Ahtisaari" VOA News (10 October 2008)
• "Global troubleshooter Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize" in Agence France-Presse report (10 October 2008)