The optimist

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The former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari is the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and has been dubbed the ‘David Beckham of Diplomacy'. He tells Arabian Business why the case for peace in the Middle East has never been stronger.

Every morning i get up as though it is the first day of my life: you maintain the intellectual curiosity, and in the morning you start by thinking ‘what can I do?'" says Martti Ahtisaari softly, leaning forward to open a bottle of water. "You don't know how nice it is to wake up next to your wife, and look at the day ahead and still be enormously curious about it. At least, it still keeps me going."

Was it not for the discreet secret service team keeping a watchful eye on passersby, you might not pick Martti Ahtisaari as one of the most distinguished powerbrokers in the room, let alone of European politics.

Pushing 72-years-old, with grey hair, thick-rimmed glasses and a quiet voice, it is a leap to imagine this man staring down Kosovan warlords, Namibian militia leaders and Iraqi hardline insurgents. It dawns on me that perhaps his voice is quiet because he rarely has to raise it.

Polite and self-deprecating, the former president of Finland is also the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a renowned United Nations diplomat and mediator. When he talks, people listen, and his peacemaking skills have helped to resolve conflicts in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, among other regions.

That Ahtisaari has made a career of war is perhaps partly explained by the fact that he was born into one.

"I was two-years-old when the Soviet Union attacked my country. I and some 400,000 people had to be relocated, so I became an eternally displaced person," he recalls. "I have no ill feelings towards Russia today. History is what it is; it doesn't serve any purpose to dwell on what went wrong.

"It was very tough on my parents' generation, but for me it is much more important to move forward and to cooperate with everyone.

"With the end of the Cold War, I don't see so many external threats to any country today, but the problems are internal, and if we don't recognise that then we are embarking on the wrong path," he emphasises. "That is very important: we must teach people how to deal with corruption, and how to get the rule of law established so that everyone can feel comfortable."

Ahtisaari was a UN Special Envoy at the Kosovo status process negotiations, aimed at resolving a long-running dispute in Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. A week after we meet, he is due to address a ceremonial session of the Kosovo assembly, marking the first anniversary since the proclamation of the country's constitution.

In Kosovo, as in many other former trouble spots, he is hailed as a returning hero.

"My tendency is that every time there are problems in the world, I sit and I think ‘what is the best that could come out of this?'" reveals Ahtisaari.

"Look at the world: the Chinese need the American markets and they need the European markets; the US needs the Chinese market; while Russia needs foreign investment and technology and money to broaden the economic base in the country," he continues. "In general, we need each other much more, and that has created the possibility to solve the eternal conflicts that we have faced.

"I said in my Oslo [Nobel Peace Prize acceptance] speech that every conflict in the world can be solved, and if we can't with this political constellation we have at the moment, then I think we have failed miserably as an international community."

Ahtisaari's confidence has been bolstered by the emergence of Barack Obama, and the new US administration. The Finn is clearly a fan, and he is enthusiastic as he reflects on Obama's first speech in the Middle East, delivered at Cairo University on June 4.

"I was in Singapore and I had the opportunity to listen to the whole speech," recalls Ahtisaari. "In my mind it marks a new beginning, and I was very pleased.

"Obama was very clear about a two-state solution, and I thought [the speech] was a useful declaration of intent," he continues. "I am fully aware that the expectations are extremely high, but I hope that during the first term of office of president Obama, that the issue of Israel-Palestine will be solved, because it serves both parties.

"We have to get a Middle East settlement and now I think we have never had a better chance to find a solution to Israel-Palestine, and also the Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan situations."

The new US administration notwithstanding, Ahtisaari isn't planning to retire anytime soon.

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