Martti Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize

Today Martti Ahtisaari, veteran diplomat and former president of Finland, was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his "important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts". The citation said these efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to "fraternity between nations" in Alfred Nobel's spirit.

Asked by AP Television News what work he considered the most important, Ahtisaari said that "of course Namibia is absolutely the most important because it took such a long time." In 1989-90 he played a significant part in the establishment of Namibia's independence. In 2005 Ahtisaari and his organization Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) were central to the peaceful solution of the complicated Aceh question in Indonesia ending a 30-year uprising.

Artisaari said he hoped to work more on the issue of youth unemployment in the future - and to stop "traveling 200 days a year outside Finland". We are happy for him, his wife and his son Marko who is a dear friend of the global DLD community.