Former
President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari to Speak at
Fulbright Association 29th Annual Conference in Morocco Ahtisaari is UN Special Envoy to
Kosovo
WASHINGTON,
D.C. (Aug. 10, 2006)—Martti Ahtisaari, former
president of Finland and recipient of the 2000 J. William Fulbright Prize
for International Understanding, will present the keynote address at the
Fulbright Association’s annual conference in Marrakech. Mr. Ahtissari will
speak on Saturday, November 4, at the Kenzi Farah Hotel.
A diplomat for more than 30 years and president of Finland from 1994 to
2000, Martti Ahtisaari has served as peacemaker in some of the world’s most
troubled areas. In November 2005, Mr. Ahtisaari was appointed the Special
Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the future status
process for Kosovo.
Since leaving the Finnish presidency, Mr. Ahtisaari has facilitated the
peace process between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh
Movement, chaired an independent panel on the security and safety of UN
personnel in Iraq, and served as UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and
Personal Envoy of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Chairman-in-Office for Central Asia. Mr. Ahtisaari oversaw inspections of
IRA weapons dumps in Northern Ireland with fellow inspector Cyril Ramaphosa.
At the request of the European Court of Human Rights, he drafted a report on
the human rights and political situation in Austria.
In 2000, Mr. Ahtisaari founded the Crisis Management Initiative, where he
serves as chairman of the board. The 2000 Fulbright Prize recognized his
contributions to strengthening civil society, extending democratic
practices, and furthering peaceful cooperation and coexistence, abilities
which have repeatedly led foreign governments to seek his aid in resolving
difficult and violent conflicts.
Mr. Ahtisaari is also a member of the joint advisors’ group for the Open
Society Institute and for the Soros Foundations Network, which operates in
various countries. He chairs the Balkan Children and Youth Foundation and
the Global Action Council of the International Youth Foundation.
The Fulbright Association’s 29th Annual Conference, “Fulbright Alumni:
Expressions in Civil Society,” will be held from Nov. 3 through Nov. 5 as
part of a series of meetings in conjunction with the Moroccan Fulbright
Alumni Association, the Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and
Cultural Exchange, and the U.S. Department of State. Additional information
on the association, the annual conference, and related meetings is available
online at
www.fulbright.org/conference.
