Former Finnish President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari has died at the age of 86. About it reported in the office of the President of Finland Sauli Niinistö.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of the death [бывшего] President Martti Ahtisaari. Martti Ahtisaari believed in people, civilization and goodness and lived a great, wonderful life. He was a transformative president who brought Finland into the global era of the EU,” Niinistö said.
Ahtisaari’s death occurred on October 16 at 06:40 local time.
Martti Ahtisaari was born on June 23, 1937 in Vyborg. He began working at the Finnish Foreign Ministry in 1965, and from 1973-1977. was ambassador to several African countries. In addition, Ahtisaari served as Special Chairman of the UN Secretary General in Namibia. He became the tenth president of Finland and held this post from 1994 to 2000. During his presidency, Finland joined the EU.
Ahtisaari received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 “for 30 years of peacekeeping work on different continents.” In particular, he was one of the developers of the plan for recognizing the independence of Kosovo. In addition, he was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania, the country’s highest state honor.
