Grave memorial for Ahtisaari unveiled in Helsinki

The grave memorial for former president Martti Ahtisaari was unveiled in Helsinki on Sunday, exactly one year after his funeral, said a government press release.

With the memorial, the government honoured the former president’s memory and important life’s work.

Ahtisaari’s grave and grave memorial are located near the New Chapel at Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.

The graves and grave memorials of former presidents Risto Ryti, Urho Kekkonen and Mauno Koivisto are located in the same area.

“Through his work, former president Ahtisaari influenced the lives of countless people on multiple continents. He showed that peace could be a reality,” said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in his speech at the unveiling ceremony.

“Ahtisaari’s work obliges us Finns to work for peace, both today and tomorrow. It obliges us to support freedom and democracy, tirelessly, without compromising,” the Premier added.

The grave memorial, called Blessed, was designed by artist and architect Harri Pakarinen.

According to Pakarinen, the name of the work comes from a verse in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, “Blessed are the peacemakers”.

The shape of the memorial calls to mind the leaf of an olive tree. It was inspired by the olive branch, which has been recognised as a symbol of peace since antiquity and which also appears in the emblem of the United Nations and in the beak of the peace dove.

“One of my starting points when designing the work was that I wanted it to honour Martti Ahtisaari’s spectacular and exceptional career as a mediator,” Pakarinen said.

Pakarinen’s work, which is 4.5 metres long, is made of green granite. The rock was extracted from the village of Ylämaa in Lappeenranta, which is part of the Vyborg rapakivi granite area extending from the Karelian Isthmus to Eastern Finland.

Ahtisaari was born in Vyborg in 1937. The Ahtisaari family was forced to leave Vyborg when the Winter War broke out in 1939.

“The work was carved from Finnish rock excavated approximately 40 kilometres from Vyborg. In a way, one can think that former president Martti Ahtisaari is now resting under rock from his home region,” said Harri Pakarinen.

The Prime Minister’s Office commissioned the work in an open design competition held in the first half of the year.

The design competition was of high artistic standard and received 171 entries.

Harri Pakarinen’s proposal won first prize. The winner of was selected by an awards committee consisting of the former president Ahtisaari grave memorial committee and two artists appointed by the Artists’ Association of Finland. The value of the contract for the work was EUR 175,000.

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (b. 23 June 1937) was the tenth President of the Republic of Finland and the first to be elected by direct popular vote.

He served as president from 1994 to 2000. Former president Ahtisaari is remembered for his long and exceptionally wide-ranging international work for peace and reconciliation that spanned over three decades.

Ahtisaari passed away in Helsinki on October 16, 2023 after a long illness at the age of 86.

His state funeral was held in Helsinki on 10 November 2023.