Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize

In Europe, he helped Kosovo, which declared its independence in February, even though his mediation efforts failed to clinch an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo.

And in May 2000 the British government appointed Ahtisaari to co-head, with Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, the inspection of IRA arms’ dumps in Northern Ireland.

“Throughout all his adult life, whether as a senior Finnish public servant and president or in an international capacity, often connected to the United Nations, Ahtisaari has worked for peace and reconciliation,” Mjoes said.

Although he most recently displayed his talents as a mediator in Europe, Ahtisaari cut his diplomatic teeth in Africa. He was appointed Finland’s ambassador to Tanzania in 1973, at the age of 36.

He became UN Commissioner for Namibia in 1977 and in 1978 was named the UN envoy to Namibia.

In 1994 Finland’s Social Democratic Party nominated him to run for the presidency and Ahtisaari became the first directly elected Finnish president.