Finland's ex-president Martti Ahtisaari received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to build a lasting peace in places as diverse as East Timor and the Balkans in Europe.

Nobel goes to a peacemaker - 10 / 10 / 2008 12:40

This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been won by peace negotiator Martti Ahtisaari, the Nobel Foundation has announced in Norway's capital, Oslo.

Finland's ex-president has been the UN special envoy for talks on the final status of Kosovo, and mediated a 2005 accord in Indonesia's Aceh province.

Ahtisaari told Norwegian broadcaster NRK he was "very pleased and grateful" to receive the award.

The laureate wins a gold medal, diploma and 10m Swedish kronor ($1.42m).

The winners were chosen by a secretive five-member Norwegian awards committee from 197 nominations this year.

Namibian agreement

The Nobel committee commended Ahtisaari, 71, "for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts".

The citation continued: "He has figured prominently in endeavours to resolve several serious and long-lasting conflicts," mentioning his roles in Namibia, Aceh, Kosovo and Iraq.

"He has also made constructive contributions to the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland, in Central Asia and on the Horn of Africa," it said.

Ahtisaari told NRK he thought his biggest achievement was in Namibia.

"It was absolutely the most important because it took such a long time," he said. 

Ahtisaari will receive the prize in Oslo on 10 December, the anniversary of the death in 1896 of the awards' founder, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.

In keeping with tradition, no candidates were named ahead of Friday's announcement.

But those said to be in the frame included Zimbabwean politician Morgan Tsvangirai and freed French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.

Chinese dissidents Hu Jia and Gao Zhisheng were also leading contenders, prompting Beijing to issue a veiled warning that the prize should go to the "right person".

bbc