Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies at 86
Obituary
Famous peace broker Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland, has died at the age of 86. Born in 1937 in Vyborg, then in Finland but now in Russia, Ahtisaari came to power at a time when Finland was in deep crisis. It was in an economic recession, which eclipsed the country's westward movement after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1994, the first year of his presidency, he oversaw Finland's referendum on joining the European Union. After his presidency he worked as a peace broker, including in Indonesia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland. When he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008, the committee praised him for his promotion of "brotherhood among nations" and his tireless, self-effacing style. Born into a military family, he originally trained and worked as a public school teacher. He is married to his wife, Iva, the former Finnish First Lady, and has a son, Marko, who is a musician
____________________________
