Former Finnish president to receive 2010 Great Negotiator Award from HKS

A highly respected world leader and peace negotiator is the recipient of the 2010 Great Negotiator Award, co-sponsored by the Future of Diplomacy Project at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard University’s Program on Negotiation.

This year’s honoree is Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Finland and recipient of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, for his work on diplomacy and negotiation throughout his career.  Ahtisaari will receive the award during a visit to Harvard on September 27.

Ahtisaari played a pivotal role in negotiations for Namibian independence from South Africa in the late 1980s, served as the chief U.N. negotiator on Kosovo from 2005 to 2006 and helped end hostilities between the province of Aceh and Indonesia that claimed as many as 50,000 lives over the years of conflict. Among the eight previous recipients of the award are U.S. Senator George Mitchell, United Nations Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.