Former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari to Speak at Fulbright Association 29th Annual Conference in Morocco
Ahtisaari is UN Special Envoy to Kosovo

      WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 10, 2006)-Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Finland and recipient of the 2000 J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, will present the keynote address at the Fulbright Association's annual conference in Marrakech.  Mr. Ahtissari will speak on Saturday, November 4, at the Kenzi Farah Hotel.  
      
      A diplomat for more than 30 years and president of Finland from 1994 to 2000, Martti Ahtisaari has served as peacemaker in some of the world's most troubled areas.  In November 2005, Mr. Ahtisaari was appointed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the future status process for Kosovo.  
      
      Since leaving the Finnish presidency, Mr. Ahtisaari has facilitated the peace process between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement, chaired an independent panel on the security and safety of UN personnel in Iraq, and served as UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and Personal Envoy of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Chairman-in-Office for Central Asia.  Mr. Ahtisaari oversaw inspections of IRA weapons dumps in Northern Ireland with fellow inspector Cyril Ramaphosa.  At the request of the European Court of Human Rights, he drafted a report on the human rights and political situation in Austria.  
      
      In 2000, Mr. Ahtisaari founded the Crisis Management Initiative, where he serves as chairman of the board.  The 2000 Fulbright Prize recognized his contributions to strengthening civil society, extending democratic practices, and furthering peaceful cooperation and coexistence, abilities which have repeatedly led foreign governments to seek his aid in resolving difficult and violent conflicts.  
      
      Mr. Ahtisaari is also a member of the joint advisors' group for the Open Society Institute and for the Soros Foundations Network, which operates in various countries.  He chairs the Balkan Children and Youth Foundation and the Global Action Council of the International Youth Foundation.
      
      The Fulbright Association's 29th Annual Conference, "Fulbright Alumni:  Expressions in Civil Society," will be held from Nov. 3 through Nov. 5 as part of a series of meetings in conjunction with the Moroccan Fulbright Alumni Association, the Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange, and the U.S. Department of State.  Additional information on the association, the annual conference, and related meetings is available online at www.fulbright.org/conference.
      
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