Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari; born 23 June 1937) is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work...
NationalityFinnish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth23 June 1937
CityVyborg, Finland
CountryFinland
careful enter studies
You need to carry out very careful pre-feasibility and feasibility studies before you enter any crisis situation.
consulting difficult forward help issues mediator medical midwife open parties peace role task teacher
The task of the mediator is to help the parties to open difficult issues and nudge them forward in the peace process. The mediator's role combines those of a ship's pilot, consulting medical doctor, midwife and teacher.
based became conflicts involved parties trust
Mediators do not choose the conflicts they became involved in, but the parties to the conflict choose the mediator. Their participation as intermediaries is based on the trust of all the conflicting parties.
coming generation government growing influence people policies power talk time
No country's policies are eternal; they do vary. People are growing old, and a new generation is coming to power. In a year's time, a government can look different. You can't influence them if you don't talk to them.
life
Luck has a lot to do with how your life develops.
given peace people responsibility
The only people that can make peace are the parties to the conflict, and just as they are responsible for the conflict and its consequences, so should they be given responsibility and recognition for the peace.
government none organize
It is up to the government how they organize themselves. It's none of my business.
agreement counts leap pages signed words
It's a leap of faith. The agreement is under 10 pages long and we could have signed 100 pages, but what counts is not words but deeds.
collect listen object trip
The object of this first trip is to listen to the parties, collect impressions,
eastern household moved settling
With my mother, I moved from one household to another before settling in the eastern part of Finland, in the city of Kuopio.
days easily last lead life minutes nap travelled year
In the last year of my presidency, I travelled 200 days out of 365. You have to lead a very disciplined life. To be able to do that, I need a lot of sleep. But I have no problems sleeping. On long days, I can easily take a nap for 20 minutes in the afternoon.
concerned countries movements
I'm concerned when certain movements or countries have been isolated from the international dialogue because then you have no way of influencing them.
If the political will is there, we can solve anything.
accept excuses interests power stop war
There are always interests that are furthered by war. Therefore, those who have power and influence can also stop them... we should not accept any excuses from those in power.