Juha Christensen is a Finnish businessman, philanthropist and negotiator who played an instrumental role in the 2005

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

peace process.

Life

Christensen is a former pharmaceutical executive. Before becoming involved in the Aceh peace process, he had lived for several decades in Indonesia, and spoke Indonesian fluently.

Involvement in Aceh peace process

In June 2003 and acting on his own initiative, Christensen went to Stockholm where he initiated discussions with leaders of the

Free Aceh Movement The Free Aceh Movement ( id, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM; ace, Geurakan Acèh Meurdèka / Gěrakan Aceh Měrdeka) was a separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra, Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government f ...

. In February 2004 Christensen contacted the then Finnish Prime Minister

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 ...

, who he knew personally, to become involved in peace negotiations. Christensen was also able to connect another old friend, Farid Husain, then the Indonesian Minister of Health, with Ahtisaari and the Finnish CMI (Crisis Management Initiative). Christensen was an active participant in the peace negotiations. As a result of the negotiations that followed, a peace agreement between the parties in conflict was signed in Helsinki on 15 August 2005. Following the peace agreement, Christensen was a special adviser to the

Aceh Monitoring Mission The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) was deployed by the European Union after the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement" had been signed on 15 August 2005 in Helsinki, Finland. The ...

(AMM) until 2006. In 2015, Christensen negotiated the surrender and disarming of

Din Minimi Nurdin bin Ismail Amat (born 10 August 1979), better known as Din Minimi, is a former militant of Free Aceh Movement who led an armed band based in Aceh during the 2010s. Born in East Aceh, he joined the separatist movement in 1997. Following th ...

, a former GAM militant, and 30 of his followers east of

Banda Aceh Banda Aceh ( Acehnese: ''Banda Acèh'', Jawoë: كوتا بند اچيه) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of . The city covers an area of and had ...

. As of 2017, Christensen is the general manager of Pacta (Architecture Peace and Conflict Transformation Alliance), a Finnish peace organization that he co-founded. Christensen was invited to join the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council as a founding member.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Juha Insurgency in Aceh Aceh War Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Finnish expatriates in Indonesia