Marti Misterija

Under-Secretary General Martti Ahtisaari in his office in New York.Martti Ahtisaari

šta je rekao, kako je rekao, u kom kontekstu...

njegovi CV-jevi i slike preuzeti su sa zvaničnog sajta finskog parlamenta i medjunarodne krizne grupe.

Ahtisaari, Martti Oiva Kalevi (1937-) bio je predsednik Finske od 1994. do 2000.

Martti Ahtisaari

MARTTI AHTISAARI:
A NEW KIND OF PRESIDENT FOR AN ERA OF CHANGE by
Jaakko Iloniemi,
(Former Ambassador of Finland to the United States of America)

Martti Ahtisaari was elected the tenth President of independent Finland in February 1994. This election marked a turning point in the history of the Finnish democratic system. For the first time, the President was elected by direct popular vote, rather than indirectly through the electoral college system. The election campaign had already reflected this change.

Finnish society, like the world as a whole, is undergoing a profound transition. New visions and tools are needed, and new leaders, too. The Finns wanted a new leader for this period of change. Martti Ahtisaari proved well suited to this situation. He campaigned by seeking support not through the old political system, but directly from the people. His themes were openness, interaction, and renewal in political life, and determination to tackle the unemployment problem. He was able to convey this message better than professional politicians. Most people saw him as an entirely new type of a political leader. As a matter of fact, his whole earlier career had been on the fringes of politics, not inside it.

Martti Ahtisaari was born on June 23, 1937, in the city of Viipuri, which is now on the Russian side of the border in part of the territory ceded to the USSR after the Second World War. His father, a naturalized Finn of Norwegian extraction, led the life of a military man as a non-commissioned army officer. Martti Ahtisaari went to school in the north of Finland in the commercial and industrial centre of Oulu. He graduated from teachers' training college and contemplated a career as an educator. The young teacher was eager to see the world, however, and suddenly, an opportunity presented itself. The Swedish Agency for International Development was looking for a young, industrious hand for an educational project in Pakistan. Ahtisaari got the job and worked in that country for a few years. It was an experience that changed the future course of his life.

Martti Ahtisaari i kolegeBack in Finland in 1963, he worked briefly for an international students' organization. In 1965, he joined the newly established Department for International Development Cooperation at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He worked his way up to Deputy Head of Department and was appointed Ambassador to Tanzania in 1973. Serving at the same time as Ambassador to Mozambique, Somalia and Zambia, he developed a vast network of African contacts. His African friends put their trust in him when the United Nations sought a Commissioner for Namibia. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Javier Perez de Cuellar, appointed Ahtisaari to serve as Commissioner and as his Special Representative to Namibia, which was still under South African rule but on its way to independence. Ahtisaari performed an almost impossible feat in helping Namibia to attain independence without any rupture in the social fabric of the nation. He succeeded by a combination of firmness and conciliation.

Marti na terenuAhtisaari's term came to an end in 1984. He returned to Helsinki to serve as Undersecretary of State for international cooperation with developing countries. In 1987 the Secretary-General of the UN called upon Ahtisaari once again. He was appointed Under-Secretary General for Administration and Management, but also retained his position as Special Representative for Namibia. Now the Namibian march towards independence was on its final leg and entering an extremely delicate phase. All went well, however: Namibia became an independent country and held free and fair elections. Namibia is clearly one of the of the United Nations' success stories, Martti Ahtisaari played a key role in that process. The young nation made him an Honorary Citizen of Namibia.

In 1991, it was time to come home again. He took over the post of Secretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, its highest civil service position. But in 1992, the UN again needed Ahtisaari's negotiating and mediating skills, and he was appointed Chairman of the Bosnia-Hercegovina Working Group of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia.

Although Ahtisaari had never played an active role in domestic politics, he was known to be aligned with the moderately left-of-centre Social Democratic Party. As a son of Oulu, where he graduated in 1959, he was drafted by local party committees to run in Social Democratic primaries to be the party's candidate in the 1994 presidential elections. This was the first time that the party held primaries to elect its official candidate. Mr. Ahtisaari won the primary, to the amazement of most political pundits. He launched a powerful campaign and was elected president with a comfortable margin.

Finski Parlament - radno mesto Martija AhtisarijaThere has been much debate on the position of the President of Finland since Urho Kekkonen resigned in 1981 after holding the office for more than a quarter of a century. His successor, Mauno Koivisto, was inclined to interpret the political role of the President more narrowly than his predecessor and also worked actively to reduce some of the constitutional prerogatives of the President. Against this background, it is understandable that the views of his successor were awaited with interest. President Ahtisaari has taken the role of an active political leader, especially in the new international circumstances confronting Finland now that EU membership has taken effect. Foreign and security policy has traditionally, and also under the Constitution, been the key sector of activity for the President. At times there was heated debate on the question of whether Finland's EU policy was to be pursued under the leadership of the Government and Prime Minister or whether it was part of the customary role of the President. This debate has now ended. Finland's constitutional laws divide these functions between the President and the Government, and Finland will also handle its EU membership on this basis.

Grb FinskePresident Ahtisaari has continued the direct contacts with the people begun during the election campaign. Regular visits to the various regions of Finland have given the President an opportunity to meet the people directly, and not through political organizations. Thus the President is not only the first Finnish head of state chosen directly by the people, but also a political leader who is personally familiar with the concerns and interests of citizens. The people appreciate this approach, and this is reflected in the continued high popularity of President Ahtisaari.

President Ahtisaari is married to Eeva Ahtisaari, née Hyvärinen, a secondary-school history teacher. They have a son, Marko, who is studying philosophy in the United States.

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 Mr Ahtisaari joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in 1965, holding various posts in the Ministry's Bureau for Technical co-operation from 1965 to 1972, and serving as Assistant Director from 1971-1972.

He served as Deputy Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Department for International Development Co-operation between 1972-1973. He was a member of the Government Advisory Committee on the Trade and Industrialization Affairs of the developing Countries from 1971-1973.

Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr Ahtisaari served as Ambassador of Finland to the United Republic of Tanzania (1973-1976) and was also accredited to Zambia, Somalia and Mozambique (1975-1976). He served as a member of the Senate of the Institute for Namibia between 1975-1976.

Mr Ahtisaari served as United Nations Commissioner for Namibia between 1977-1981. He was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary General for Namibia in July 1978.

Mr Ahtisaari served between 1984-1986 as Under-Secretary of State in charge of International Development Co-operation in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland as well as Special Representative of the Secretary General for Namibia. He was Governor for Finland in the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank as well as in the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Mr Ahtisaari was during that period Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Finnish Industrialization Fund for developing countries.

Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar appointed Mr Ahtisaari as Under-Secretary General for Administration and Management, effective 1 January 1987. Mr Ahtisaari retained his functions as Special Representative of the Secretary General for Namibia and led the UN operation (UNTAG) in Namibia (1989-1990). Mr Ahtisaari served as Under-Secretary General up until 30 June 1991.

As of 1 July 1991, Mr Ahtisaari has served as Secretary of State in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in Helsinki.

From the beginning of September 1992 until 15 April 1993 Mr Ahtisaari was Chairman of the Bosnia-Hercegovina Working Group of the International Conference on the former Yugoslavia. Beginning 1 July 1993, for a period of four months, Mr Ahtisaari served as Special Adviser to the International Conference on Former Yugoslavia and to the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for former Yugoslavia.

Mr Ahtisaari was elected President of the Republic of Finland in February 1994. He took oath of office on 1 March 1994.

Mr Ahtisaari graduated from the University of Oulu, Finland in 1959 and received an Honorary Doctorate (Pedagogy) from his university 1989. He received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts in 1990; of Political Science from Kasetsart University, Bangkok 1995; of Social Sciences from University of Turku in 1995; of Economics and Business Administration (Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration) 1996; of the University of Palermo (Argentina) 1997; of Philosophy from University of Helsinki in 1997; of Pedagogy from Kyiv 1998 and of Technology from University of Technology, Espoo 1998.

A citizen of Finland, Mr Ahtisaari was born on 23 June 1937. He is married and has a son.
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 Mrs Eeva Ahtisaari was born in Varkaus, eastern Finland, on June 18 1936.

Eeva Ahtisaari matriculated from the Girls' Lyceum, Kuopio, after which she started her studies in history at the University of Helsinki. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962.

In 1961-62 and 1964-66 Eeva Ahtisaari was employed by two university summer schools, first in Kuopio and then in Lapland. During the1960s she also worked in three different Finnish schools as a locum secondary school teacher of history.In the intervening period (1962-64) she worked as a trainee for the Helsinki University Library.

Eva i Marti AhtisariShe married Martti Ahtisaari in 1968 and gave birth to their son, Marko, in 1969. Eeva Ahtisaari was employed by the City of Espoo at the end of the 1960s, where she was curator of an open-air museum. She also arranged and planned exhibitions in the Glims homestead museum. In this work Mrs Ahtisaari emphasized the importance of preserving old architecture and restoring old buildings in the local community at a time when rapid and dramatic changes were being demanded by modern planners and builders. In 1972 she was awarded a scholarship which enabled her to study museums and museum education in the United Kingdom.

Eeva Ahtisaari's work in Espoo came to an end in 1973, when her husband was appointed ambassador of Finland to the United Republic of Tanzania. Later in the 1970s Mr Ahtisaari served as United Nations Comissioner for Namibia (1977-81). In 1987 Secretary General Javier Perez de Cueillar appointed Mr Ahtisaari under-secretary general for administration and management. He retained his function as special representative of the Secretary General in Windhoek, Namibia and went on to lead the UN Operation (UNTAG) in Namibia in 1989-90.

During the years in Namibia Mrs Ahtisaari became deeply involved in local women's political and social issues. She played a central role in improving relations between conflicting women's groups in Namibia and her activities were of great importance when the women's organisations were reshaped in independent Namibia. Eeva Ahtisaari was awarded Honorary Citizenship of Namibia for her contribution to the independence process. She has given many speeches in Namibia and later in Finland on issues such as social welfare, the role of the family and women's history.

At the end of the 1980s Mrs Ahtisaari resumed her studies at the University of Helsinki, obtaining a Master of Arts degree in history in 1989. These studies were of great importance to her and at the same time her interest in women's studies also increased. Her master's thesis dealt with one of the first Finnish female politicians at the turn of the century, Hilda Käkikoski, who was a feminist of her time and a member of the first elected parliament in 1907.

Mrs Ahtisaari became interested in oral history at the beginning of the 1990s. From 1990 to 1993 she was one of the historians involved in an extensive project financed by the Finnish Parliament. The main aim of the project is to collect and present the experiences of former members of parliament in Finland.

As the wife of the President of Finland Mrs Ahtisaari is today still firmly engaged in academic issues and women studies. With her background as a historian, matters such as cultural heritage, family welfare and women's changing position in society are of great importance to her. Chamber music, and literature form an important part of Mrs Ahtisaari's life, both in private and in public.

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