Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize

Made fun of by the press for his large size and his limp, Ahtisaari was ill at ease with the largely ceremonial role of president. With his true passion in foreign affairs, Ahtisaari likened his tour in domestic politics, which lasted until 2000, to “an extramarital affair”.

At the end of 2005, Ahtisaari was appointed the UN special envoy for talks on Kosovo, seven years after he played a key role in bringing an end to hostilities in the Serbian province.

He recommended independence for the breakaway Serbian province, where there is an ethnic Albanian majority, but his inability to get the two sides to agree was a blow for him.

His academic career led him to the teaching profession - he taught in Pakistan at the beginning of the 1960s - before he entered the diplomatic service.

With its decision to hand the 2008 prize to Ahtisaari, the Nobel committee has returned to a more tradition interpretation of the award, after several recent prizes expanded its boundaries to take in environmental work, for instance.

Last year’s Peace Prize went to former US vice president Al Gore and the United Nations panel on climate change.

Ahtisaari will receive a Nobel diploma, medal and a cheque for 10 million kronor (1.02 million euros, 1.42 million dollars) at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10.