Statement by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on the passing of President Martti Ahtisaari

I have been saddened to hear the news of the passing of former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. I offer my deepest condolences to President Ahtisaari’s family and friends, both personally and on behalf of the Government of Finland.

We have lost a president who enjoyed widespread popularity and had a profound impact on Finland’s history. A president whose decades-long work to resolve international conflicts on several continents won him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Born in Vyborg, Martti Ahtisaari, who was a teacher by training, was Finland’s tenth president and the first to be elected by direct popular vote in 1994, when Finland was experiencing a deep economic recession. As President, Ahtisaari was a strong supporter of Finland’s accession to the European Union. He advocated for a collective European security system and emphasised the important role of Nordic cooperation. International highlights of Ahtisaari’s presidential career included mediating the Kosovo peace process and hosting a US-Russia presidential summit in Helsinki.

Before his presidency, Ahtisaari had a long career in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He was known both in Finland and abroad for his demanding work on behalf of Namibian independence. President Ahtisaari continued to be involved in international mediation work even after his term in office.

Through his life’s work, President Ahtisaari shows that it is possible to be strongly Finnish and very international at the same time. We will greatly miss the president, who was a new kind of leader for many of us in an era of change.

Petteri Orpo
Prime Minister

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