Can the International Community Meet the Challenges Ahead of Us?

The Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture 2008
given by Martti Ahtisaari, Former President of Finland

Public Lecture on Thursday 18 September 17.15 in Uppsala University Hall. Performance by Allmänna Sången. Organised together with Uppsala university

Pdf with the Lecture
Also available in printed form,
ISBN 978-91-85214-50-1.

After a distinguished career with the United Nations and the Finnish Foreign Ministry, Martti Ahtisaari was elected President of the Republic of Finland in 1994. He held the position until the end of February 2000.
After leaving office as President of the Republic of Finland, Mr. Ahtisaari has taken several international tasks to continue his career in international peace-mediation and conflict resolution. His tasks are being assisted by the staff of the Crisis Management Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation that Mr. Ahtisaari founded in 2000 and where he acts as the Chairman of the Board.

Mr. Ahtisaari’s post-presidential activities have included facilitating the peace process between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement, chairing an independent panel on the security and safety of UN personnel in Iraq and appointments as the UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and Personal Envoy of the OSCE CiO for Central Asia. Between 14 November 2005 and 29 February 2008, Mr. Ahtisaari acted as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the future status process for Kosovo.

President Ahtisaari is active in numerous non-governmental and non-profit organisations. He acts as Co-Chair in European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the Chairman of the Governing Council of Interpeace. He is the Director-At-Large of the Imagine Nations Group and in this connection acts as a Board Member in Silatch, member of the Prize Committee of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and member of the International Senior Advisory Board of West Asia North Africa (WANA) r egional forum. He is also the Chairman of the Balkan Children and Youth Foundation.

Martti Ahtisaari is married to Mrs. Eeva Ahtisaari and they have a son.

Broschure about the Lecture