Government to hold moment of silence in honour of President Ahtisaari on Wednesday 18 October

The Government will decide on the arrangements for the state funeral of former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari in its plenary session on Wednesday 18 October. At the beginning of the session, the members of the Government will hold a moment of silence to honour the memory of President Ahtisaari.

In the session, the Government will also set up a committee to plan and organise the state funeral. The Prime Minister’s Office will be responsible for the funeral arrangements. The arrangements will respect the wishes of the family and will be made in close cooperation with the Office of the President of the Republic, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and numerous other parties.

More information on the plans and arrangements for the funeral will be available on Wednesday after the plenary session.

President Martti Ahtisaari passed away on Monday 16 October in Helsinki. He was 86 years old. Ahtisaari was President of the Republic of Finland from 1994 to 2000.

Inquiries: Timo Lankinen, Permanent State Under-Secretary, tel. +358 295 160 300 (general matters concerning the state funeral) and Päivi Paasikoski, Director of Government Communications, tel. +358 40 547 6279, Prime Minister’s Office.