Mediator Receives the

Irene C. Warshauer1

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 to is recognition of his extraordinary dispute resolution work throughout the world as well as confirmation that mediation has come of age. The Nobel Committee found that Mr. Ahtisaari’s “efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to ‘fraternity between nations’ in Alfred Nobel’s spirit.”2 The announcement describes Mr. Ahtisaari as

an outstanding international mediator. Through his untiring efforts and good results, he has shown what role mediation of various kinds can play in the resolution of international conflicts. … and [the Nobel Committee] wishes to express the hope that others may be inspired by his efforts and his achievements.3

Mr. Ahtisaari activities as a mediator span the globe. He assisted in the creation of the independent country of Namibia, was central to the resolution of the Aceh dispute between rebel forces and the Indonesian government and worked in Kosovo to resolve the conflict there. He also worked to mediate disputes in the Horn of Africa, Northern Ireland and in Central Asia.

Personal Background of Mr. Ahtisaari

Mr. Ahtisaari was born in 1937 in Viipuri, Finland. The area was taken over by the Soviet Union and his family moved around a frequently, presumably making him comfortable with people he did not know as well as experiencing the feeling of being an outsider. “He said that experience had given him a lifelong sympathy for the ‘eternally displaced’ and a ‘desire to advance peace and thus help others who have gone through similar experiences.’”4 He trained as a primary school teacher and worked as a teacher until 1965 when he joined Finland’s foreign ministry. He speaks many languages including French, English, Swedish and German in addition to his native Finnish, an ability which could only assist his international mediations and negotiations.

In 1973 he became Finland’s ambassador to Tanzania, his first post in Africa. He was actively involved with the and served as its representative in many parts of the world, especially in Africa, where from 1977 to 1981 he was a UN Commissioner for Namibia. He later was “the special representative in charge of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group or

1 Irene C. Warshauer is an attorney, mediator and arbitration practicing in New York City. The author has relied upon the various articles cited in this article for the majority of its content; rather than on any independent research by the author. 2 Announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 by The Norwegian Nobel Committee, , 0ctober 10, 2008, available at Nobelprize.org. 3 Ibid. 4 NYtimes.com 10/11/2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/world/europe/11nobel.html.

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Untag, [where] he helped smooth along Namibia’s transition to independence.” He “served on and off in the region through 1991.”5 From 1994 to 2000 he was president of Finland.

During the course of his career he worked to resolve many African disputes. Of all of his accomplishments he is proudest of his part in the “negotiations that led to the independence of Namibia from South African rule in 1990.”6 Mr. Ahtisaari stated that those negotiations were “absolutely the most important because it took such a long time.”7 A review of Mr. Ahtisaari’s mediation activities places him in the center of many of the major international controversies. He was an arms inspector in Northern Ireland, a UN Special envoy in the Horn of Africa, working on the humanitarian crisis, he worked to “end the conflict in Kosovo and in 2005 …[was] …appointed UN special envoy for final status talks.”8

He created the Crisis Management Initiative of which he was Chairman from 2000 to 2004. Through that organization he organized meetings between Iraqi Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Mr. Ahtisaari’s view of the responsibility of the international community with respect to conflicts is:

it’s a disgrace for the international community that we have allowed so many conflicts to become frozen, and we are not making a serious effort to solve them.9

Gareth Evans, president of the International Crisis Group called . . . [Mr. Ahtisaari] ‘a brilliant negotiator and mediator, with a tremendously effective personal style that combines charm and good humor with an iron determination.’

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Mr. Evans wrote that Mr. Ahtisaari ‘combines, to great effect, immense personal charm with a tough, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to conducting negotiations.’10

Mr. Ahtisaari’s work with the Indonesian government and the Aceh rebels ended a fight that had gone on for 30 years. In addition to his “charm and good humor and iron determination” his style is epitomized by a quote from one of the negotiators in the Aceh conflict: “His method was really extraordinary. He said, “Do you want to win, or do you want peace?”11

5 Ibid. 6 BBC News profile of Martti Ahtisaari, November, 2008. 7 Ibid. 8 BBC News “Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize” http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbeco.uk/2/hi/Europe/7662922.stm 9 Telephone interview by Adam Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Nobelprize.org with Martti Ahtisaari, recorded three hours after the announcement of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, on October 10, 2008. 10 Former Finnish President Wins Nobel Peace Prize NYTimes.com 10/11/2008. 11 Ibid.

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An example of Mr. Ahtisaari’s global views and tenacity is his recent statement “that President- elect should move quickly to try to resolve conflicts in the Middle East…urging Mr. Obama to give the region high priority in during his first year in office.”12

He is quoted as saying:

‘The credibility of the whole international community is at stake….We cannot go on, year after year, simply pretending to do something to help the situation in the Middle East. We must also get results.’13

Conclusion

Mr. Ahtisaari exemplifies the skills and talents of a mediator: patience, willingness to work with all types of parties, persistence, creativity and a sense of moral responsibility. He receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize for his international mediation work is a great and well deserved honor for him, as well as a benefit to the mediation profession by providing public attention and knowledge to the work, skills and results that can be achieved by mediators in mediation.

12 “ Nobel Winner Urges Obama to Act,” NY Times 12/11/08 p. A10.

13 Ibid.

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