Former Finnish President, United Nations diplomat and founder of the Crisis Management Initiative Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 to for his efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts.

Throughout his adult life, whether as a Finnish politician and his role in the United Nations, Ahtisaari has worked for peace and reconciliation. For the past 20 years, he has figured prominently in endeavours to resolve several serious and long-lasting conflicts.

In 1989-90 he played a significant part in the establishment of Namibia's independence; in 2005 he and his organisation CMI were central to the solution of the complicated Aceh question in Indonesia. In 1999 and again in 2005-07, he sought under especially difficult circumstances to find a solution to the conflict in Kosovo.

In 2008, through the CMI and in cooperation with other institutions, Ahtisaari has tried to help find a peaceful conclusion to the problems in Iraq. He has also made constructive contributions to the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland, in Central Asia, and on the Horn of Africa.

Although the parties themselves have the main responsibility for avoiding war and conflict, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has on several occasions awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to mediators in international politics.