Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari was born in 1937 in Vyborg, Finland. In 1944, the Soviet Union took the city located near the Finnish border. Ahtisaari worked at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) before going to work for the Finnish Foreign Service. In 1973, Dr Ahtisaari became ambassador to several African governments. Among other things, this brought him into contact with the Swapo resistance movement during the Namibian struggle for freedom. Dr Ahtisaari would use these experiences in service to the United Nations (UN). In 1978, he became UN commissioner for Namibia. That same year, Dr Ahtisaari became UN Under-Secretary-General for Administrative Affairs. In 1989, he returned to Namibia as head of the UN peacekeeping force. Dr Ahtisaari led the people to free elections, and on his departure he was declared an honorary citizen of Namibia.

Dr Ahtisaari travels extensively, especially between Africa, New York and Helsinki. In 1991, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs in Finland. His critical attitude towards the Americans' intervention in Iraq caused him problems in his career. The Americans blocked his candidature for the post of UN secretary-general. Dr Ahtisaari was sent to the Balkans as a mediator. There, he led the Bosnia-Herzegovina working group and later helped resolve the Kosovo conflict. Between 1994 and 2000, Dr Ahtisaari was president of the Republic of Finland. During that period, Finland became a member of the European Union. Dr Ahtisaari organised the Helsinki Summit between the United States and Soviet Union.

After stepping down in 2000, Dr Ahtisaari was not less busy. That year, he had to oversee the disarming of the Northern Ireland Republican Army (IRA). This was followed by mediation in the conflict between Indonesia and Aceh in 2005 and his mission as UN envoy in Kosovo. After receiving the International Four Freedoms Award, Dr Athisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.

In his acceptance speech, Dr Ahtisaari said that making the Four Freedoms a reality has more to do with their interpretation than with words. ‘The political will and means to achieve goals are more important than defining those goals,’ said Dr Ahtisaari.