Prime Minister Vanhanen put forward Ahtisaari for Nobel Peace Prize

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Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) and a few other key ministers in the government were behind the nomination of former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari for the Nobel Peace Prize. The proposal was made in two consecutive years.
      The ministers put forward the nomination as private individuals, and the question was not discussed in the Finnish government. The matter was dealt with so quietly that not all government ministers even new about the proposal.
      Commenting on Friday on discussion that had arisen in Finland on which Finnish leaders were present at the award ceremony in Oslo, Ahtisaari himself appeared to be under the impression that it was the government that had nominated him for the prize.
      Ahtisaari said that at the last minute he added the names of Prime Minister Vanhanen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party) and European Commissioner Olli Rehn to his invitation list.
      It had never occurred to Ahtisaari to invite President Tarja Halonen, whose absence from the events has raised some attention in Finland.
     
Norway’s Nobel Committee never invites internationally famous figures itself, noted Secretary General Geir Lundestad on Monday.
      “We never would have invited Tarja Halonen. We never invite notable international guests who might draw attention away from the recipient”, Lundestad said. “If there have been such people, they have been invited by the recipient of the award.”
      According to Lundestad, most of the nearly 1,000 invited guests are Norwegian figures in science, business, and politics. In addition, the recipient is allowed to invite a number of his or her own guests.
      The matter became clear to Ahtisaari in the final stages of drawing up the list of guests. He told Helsingin Sanomat in Stockholm on Friday that he understood the reason: not all of the recipients represent their countries, so the Nobel Committee does not automatically invite official representatives of the governments of the countries involved.
      President Halonen will host a dinner for 160 guests on Friday this week in honour of former President Ahtisaari.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Serious moments and laughs for Ahtisaari at Nobel Concert in Oslo (12.12.2008)
  Nobel Peace laureate Martti Ahtisaari makes appeal for peace in Middle East (11.12.2008)
  Martti Ahtisaari wins 2008 Nobel Peace Prize (10.10.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat