The Finnish Institute warmly remembers President Martti Ahtisaari who passed away on October 16th. Ahtisaari served as the President of Finland during the years 1994–2000, and received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. The President and his wife Eeva Ahtisaari made an official state visit to Greece in 1998, when Costas Simitis was the country’s Prime Minister and Kostis Stephanopoulos the President.
The Finnish Institute at Athens had the honour of hosting a reception on its premises for the presidential couple. The Assistant Director at the time Jari Pakkanen guided the President into the history of the Athenian Acropolis from the Philopappos Hill, while the then Researcher Petra Pakkanen accompanied Eeva Ahtisaari and guided her tour.
In the picture below, Pakkanen is greeting Eeva Ahtisaari with the then Director Olli Salomies and Tiina Purola in the Institute’s garden.
