Martti Ahtisaari

President of Finland from 1994 to 2000

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (23 June 193716 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

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