Former Finnish President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari has died at 86, Finland’s presidential office said on Monday.

Mr Ahtisaari passed away in Helsinki at 6:40 a.m. (0340 GMT), the presidential office said in a statement.

Mr Ahtisaari, born in 1937, served as Finland’s president from 1994 to 2000.

Before his tenure, he held several positions in the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the United Nations.

One of his last major political assignments was as a UN special envoy for Kosovo.

Following his presidency, Ahtisaari founded a peace brokerage organisation called the Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation.

He made a name for himself as a mediator for the settlement of crises and conflicts.

In 2008, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his peacekeeping efforts.

“It is with great sadness that we have received the news of the death of President Ahtisaari. Ahtisaari believed in humankind, civilisation and goodness, and he lived a great, significant life,” stated the Finnish government.

“He was president in times of change, who piloted Finland into a global EU era,” said Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

In 2021, it became known that Mr Ahtisaari had Alzheimer’s disease, and as a result, he gave up all public activities.

(dpa/NAN)