Martti Ahtisaari, Finland’s former president and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, died in Helsinki on Monday at the age of 86 after battling Alzheimer’s disease, the president’s office announced.
“It is with deep sadness that we have received the news of the death of President Martti Ahtisaari,” the current president, Sauli Niinisto, said in a statement.
Serving as president from 1994 to 2000, the mediator mediated the resolution of crises all over the world, from Indonesia to Kosovo and Namibia, garnering him worldwide acclaim and a Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 as part of a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years.
The former UN diplomat was credited with bringing the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels together in 2005, effectively ending a three-decade battle that killed 15,000 people.
Both sides described Ahtisaari as steely during the negotiations yet endowed with a sense of humour and warmth on the sidelines.
“I have enormous amounts of patience. I don’t usually get angry, but I can be tough,” he later said, adding that he felt the key to his success was an ability to understand people.
Despite his intensive attempts to reach an agreement with Serbia before Pristina unilaterally declared independence in 2008, Ahtisaari helped guide Kosovo down the path to independence.
Ahtisaari retired from public life in September 2021 due to Alzheimer’s disease.