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Martti Ahtisaari - the peacemaker, the president

Elizabeth Brauer

Last month, Finland lost one of its world-changing citizens. Martti Ahtisaari was born in Viipuri (Vyborg), Russia in 1937 and went on to become arguably one of the most influential international and domestic figures Finland has ever known.

Exploring the waters of eastern Finland - not Viipuri, but near where my family resettled after needing to evacuate from Karelia

After Viipuri became dangerous to remain in, he and his mother fled to Kuopio, Finland in 1940 (during the Continuation War). Around age 15, he and his family moved across the country to Oulu where he finished high school and joined the local YMCA. Following military service - it is a requirement for men in Finland to either complete military or civil service - he started to study to become a primary school teacher. The summer after certifying as a teacher, he interviewed and was selected to work at a boarding school in Karachi, Pakistan through the Swedish Agency for International Development. Within five years he joined the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Building and crossing metaphorical bridges is something Ahtisaari was known for in his work as a diplomat and politician

Following about eight years at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, he was selected to be Finland’s Ambassador to Tanzania, Zambia, Somalia, and Mozambique. Following his posts in Africa, he served as the UN undersecretary-general for administration and management until 1991. From there, he was appointed Finland’s Secretary of State. Next up was winning election to become the President of Finland from 1994 until 2000. He was known as Matka-Mara for all of his travelling around the country to talk with ordinary citizens throughout Finland. During his campaign, he had promised to visit one province every month during his presidency and making good on that was a cause of his political popularity.

Helsinki’s Tuomiokirkko where Martti Ahtisaari’s state funeral was held on November 10, 2023

As President, Ahtisaari publicly supported Finland's entry into the European Union. During his presidency, he also hosted a meeting in Helsinki between Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton. He was central to the negotiations between Viktor Chernomyrdin and Slobodan Milošević to end the fighting in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo in 1999. He did not run for re-election in 2000 and was followed in office by Finland’s first female president, Tarja Halonen.

Not Hietaniemi, but a cemetary in eastern Finland where my Finnish relatives are buried

Following his presidency, Martti Ahtisaari advocated for Finland to join NATO, years before they officially joined in 2023. He worked for several different international organizations and founded the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), which has the goal of preventing and resolving conflict through informal dialogue and mediation. Ahtisaari was appointed Special Envoy for the Kosovo status process in 2005. This roll had to help determine whether Kosovo, having been administered by the United Nations since 1999, should become independent or remain a province of Serbia. In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Later that year, Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In December 2015, Finland launched its first batch of national emojis and Martti Ahtisaari was one of them as “The Peacemaker.”

My sister Katherine and I one early morning in Helsinki before serving as delegates for Salolampi, Finnish language village at the Expatriate Parliament in 2015

In fall of 2021, it was announced that Ahtisaari had Alzheimer's disease and had officially retired from public life. He died from complications of this disease on October 16th, 2023 - he was 86. The state funeral was today (November 10th, 2023). This is also Martinpäivä (St. Martin’s Day) in Finland. The service was held at the iconic Helsinki Cathedral and he is buried in Helsinki’s Hietaniemi Cemetery. For those interested, YLE produced a substantial amount of images, videos, and new articles regarding this funeral service.

How you can further Martti Ahtisaari’s life mission:

More detailed biographies about Martti Ahtisaari:

Reflection time after attending STAR-lite training at the Union Depot in Saint Paul, Minnesota