英语名人堂：马尔蒂·阿赫蒂萨里

马尔蒂·阿赫蒂萨里，芬兰前总统，2005年11月11日被任命为联合国科索沃问题谈判特使。因为他的卓越贡献，时常被视为诺贝尔和平奖的候选人。他于2008年获得由瑞典皇家科学院诺贝尔奖委员会颁发的2008年度诺贝尔和平奖），其颁奖词是：“因其在过去30多年来，横跨几大州，为解决国际间争端所发挥的重要作用。”

Peace Prize winner and former Finnish President. He also won the 2008 UNESCO Peace Prize. Ahtisaari has spent much of his career in the world’s danger zones trying to bring peace to people at war. Ahtisaari started his career as a school teacher, which he says was good training for his diplomatic¹ career.

 

Ahtisaari was born in 1937 in Finland. When he was a child, his home region was taken over by the Soviet² Union. He and his family had to move many times. He said this experience gave him sympathy for displaced³ people. He became a teacher in 1959 and a year later started his travels. He took up a position in Pakistan to start a physical education school.

 

Ahtisaari returned to Finland in 1963 and became interested in developing countries. In 1965, he joined Finland’s Ministry⁴ for Foreign Affairs. He was sent to Namibia in 1989 as the UN Special Representative to bring peace to the country. He achieved this and became an honorary Namibian citizen. Ahtisaari returned to Finland and served as president between 1994-2000.

 

Ahtisaari said his greatest triumph was bringing peace to Namibia. He also played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process, the Aceh region of Indonesia, and Kosovo. More recently, he has mediated⁵ between different sides in Iraq. Ahtisaari is a strong believer that all countries can achieve peace. “Every conflict can be solved,” he said.

1 diplomatic   

adj.外交的，从事外交的，策略的，有手腕的

参考例句：

• There are certain forms that must be followed in diplomatic circles.在外交界有一些礼节是必须遵守的。
• You must be more diplomatic in handling the situation.你在处理这一情况时，必须圆滑。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 displaced   

移动( displace的过去式和过去分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。
• He was displaced by another young man. 他已被另一个年轻人顶替。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。