Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Finnish Diplomat

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Ahtisaari's most successful effort may have been in 2005, when he hosted talks between the Indonesian government and separatist rebels from the province of Aceh that ultimately led to the cessation of hostilities after 130 years of fighting. He also helped bring an end to war and nearly 10 years of negotiations in Namibia, paving the way to that country's independence in 1990. In Iraq, the diplomat has hosted talks between feuding Sunni and Shi'ite groups, modeled on successful dialogues in South Africa and Northern Ireland.

Not all his efforts have turned out well. Some diplomats believe the solution he helped draft to the Kosovo war in 1999, which stipulated that Kosovo remain under Serbia's control, left the problem unresolved and sowed the seeds for the recent flare-ups between the West and Russia in the Balkans and Caucasus. "It was not a good deal. We should have gone all the way," says a U.S. diplomat familiar with the compromise. Ahtisaari has also been criticized for supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, which he did on humanitarian grounds.

Upon being informed of the prize, which includes a gold medal and $1.42 million, Ahtisaari told Norwegian TV that he was "very pleased and grateful." In previous interviews he has said the attention generated by such an award would help sustain the work of his nongovernmental organization, the Crisis Management Initiative. The career of this northern diplomat has not always produced the hoped-for outcome or held the spotlight. But it demonstrates the value of a cool and steady hand in turbulent times.

(Click here for a gallery on How Nobel Prize Winners Spend Their Money.)