Former Finnish President and 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Martti Ahtisaari has died, his foundation confirmed. He was 86.
Ahtisaari, who served as the Nordic country's president for a six-year term — from 1994 to 2000 — later founded the Helsinki-based Crisis Management Initiative, a peace foundation aimed at preventing and resolving violent conflicts through informal dialogue and mediation. with the aim of preventing and resolving violent conflicts.
As president, he led Finland's European Union membership and encouraged voters to support the 1994 accession referendum. His image as a global conflict mediator boosted the image of Finland as it emerged from the shadow of erstwhile Soviet Union.
Ahtisaari was diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer’s disease in 2021.
His foundation released a statement announcing his demise, saying it was “deeply saddened by the loss of its founder and chair of board.”
The Norwegian Nobel Peace Committee had picked the former Finnish president for the 2008 Peace Prize in light of his extensive work in mediating and resolving international conflicts in several continents over the past three decades.
Among his notable works, Ahtisaari served as a United Nations special envoy for Kosovo and helped resolve the long-running dispute in the southeastern country, which later declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. He also played a prominent role in resolving long-standing conflicts in Namibia, Aceh (Indonesia) and Iraq.
He was also involved with the Northern Ireland peace process in the late 1990s, being tasked with monitoring terrorist group IRA's disarmament process.
