Grave memorial for former president Martti Ahtisaari unveiled on Sunday 10 November

The grave memorial for former president Martti Ahtisaari was unveiled in Helsinki on St. Martin’s Day, 10 November, exactly one year after former president Ahtisaari’s funeral. With the memorial, the Government honours former president Ahtisaari’s memory and important life’s work.

“Through his work, former president Ahtisaari influenced the lives of countless people on multiple continents. He showed that peace could be a reality,” said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in his speech at the unveiling ceremony.

 “Ahtisaari’s work obliges us Finns to work for peace, both today and tomorrow. It obliges us to support freedom and democracy, tirelessly, without compromising.”

Former president Ahtisaari’s grave and grave memorial are located near the New Chapel at Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. The graves and grave memorials of former presidents Risto Ryti, Urho Kekkonen and Mauno Koivisto are located in the same area.

Inspired by the symbol for peace

The grave memorial, called Blessed, was designed by artist and architect Harri Pakarinen. According to Pakarinen, the name of the work comes from a verse in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9).

The shape of the memorial calls to mind the leaf of an olive tree. It was inspired by the olive branch, which has been recognised as a symbol of peace since antiquity and which also appears in the emblem of the United Nations and in the beak of the peace dove.

“One of my starting points when designing the work was that I wanted it to honour Martti Ahtisaari’s spectacular and exceptional career as a mediator,” Pakarinen says.

Pakarinen’s work, which is 4.5 metres long, is made of green granite. The rock was extracted from the village of Ylämaa in Lappeenranta, which is part of the Vyborg rapakivi granite area extending from the Karelian Isthmus to Eastern Finland. Former president Martti Ahtisaari was born in Vyborg in 1937. The Ahtisaari family was forced to leave Vyborg when the Winter War broke out in 1939.

“The work was carved from Finnish rock excavated approximately 40 kilometres from Vyborg. In a way, one can think that former president Martti Ahtisaari is now resting under rock from his home region,” says Harri Pakarinen. 

Work selected through open design competition

The Prime Minister’s Office commissioned the work in an open design competition held in the first half of the year.

The design competition was of high artistic standard and received 171 entries. Harri Pakarinen’s proposal won first prize. The winner of was selected by an awards committee consisting of the former president Ahtisaari grave memorial committee and two artists appointed by the Artists’ Association of Finland. The value of the contract for the work was EUR 175,000. 

Ahtisaari was the first president elected by direct popular vote

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (b. 23 June 1937) was the tenth President of the Republic of Finland and the first to be elected by direct popular vote. He served as president from 1994 to 2000. Former president Ahtisaari is remembered for his long and exceptionally wide-ranging international work for peace and reconciliation that spanned over three decades.

Former president Ahtisaari passed away in Helsinki on 16 October 2023. His state funeral was held in Helsinki on 10 November 2023.

Inquiries: Tiina-Kaisa Laakso-Liukkonen, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 29 516 0220 and Heli Suominen, Head of Communications, tel. +358 50 479 3766, Prime Minister’s Office

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