Eeva Irmeli Ahtisaari (née Hyvärinen, born 18 June 1936) is a Finnish teacher and historian who was the First Lady of Finland from 1994 to 2000. She is married to the 10th

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, Republiken Finlands president) is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the p ...

Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (; born 23 June 1937) is a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland (1994–2000), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediator noted for his international peace work. Ahtisa ...

. Their son is the musician

Marko Ahtisaari Marko Ahtisaari (born 1969 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish technology entrepreneur and musician. Ahtisaari has been CEO and co-founder of two technology companies: Dopplr (acquired by Nokia in 2009) and Sync Project (acquired by Bose in 2018). ...

Life

Eeva Ahtisaari graduated from the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

in 1962 and worked as a history teacher in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per� ...

and

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

. In 1974–1989, Ahtisaari lived in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

as her husband Martti Ahtisaari worked as a diplomat and UN Special Representative. Ahtisaari's autobiography ''Juuret ja siivet'' (Roots and Wings) was published in 2002. On 21 March 2020, it was announced that Eeva Ahtisaari was tested positive for the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

. She attended the

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

concert on 8 March at the

Helsinki Music Centre sv, Musikhuset i Helsingfors , image = Centro Musical de Helsinki, Finlandia, 2012-08-14, DD 01.JPG , caption = Helsinki Music Centre in August 2011, shortly before opening , former_names = , building_type ...

while infected. The former President of Finland

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisati ...

was also present at the concert but she was not infected.

Honours

National honours

* Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

(1994)

Foreign honours

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

*: **

EST Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana - 1st Class BAR

First Class of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of ...

(1995) *: ** ISL Icelandic Order of the Falcon - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...

(26 September 1995)Icelandic Presidency Website (''Icelandic''), Order of the Falcon
Martti & Eeva Ahtisaari
, 26 September 1995, Grand Cross with Collar & Grand Cross respectively * Commander Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

(1994) * Honorary citizenship (1992)

Literal works

*''Yksi kamari – kaksi sukupuolta: Suomen eduskunnan ensimmäiset naiset'', Helsinki; Parliament of Finland, 1997. *''Juuret ja siivet'', Helsinki; WSOY, 2002. *Eeva Ahtisaari, Maija Kauppinen, Aura Korppi-Tommola: ''Tavoitteena tasa-arvo: Suomen Naisyhdistys 125 vuotta'', Helsinki; Finnish Literature Society, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahtisaari, Eeva 1936 births Living people People from Varkaus Finnish schoolteachers 20th-century Finnish historians First Ladies and Gentlemen of Finland Expatriates in Tanzania Finnish expatriates in Namibia Finnish women historians