The illustration in the black-and-white stamp features President Ahtisaari and the text “In Memoriam Martti Ahtisaari 1937–2023”. The stamp will be accompanied by a first day cover and cachet. The cover features the text “Rauha on tahdon asia” (Peace is a question of will).
The stamp was designed by Timo Berry. The photograph used in the stamp was taken by Tuukka Koski. The stamp sheet contains ten domestic no-value indicator stamps.
“President Ahtisaari was a person of international distinction, who is known and appreciated especially for his work for peace. The stamp is designed as an elegantly dignified portrait. His role as statesman can be seen in the first day cachet, which features the coat of arms of Finland. For the first day cover, I chose his perhaps most important thought, expressed in his Nobel Lecture: ‘Peace is a question of will’,” says the stamp’s designer Timo Berry.
President Martti Ahtisaari died at the age of 86 in Helsinki on October 16. He was born in Vyborg on June 23, 1937. He was the President of the Republic of Finland from 1994 until 2000. Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.
A mourning stamp was last published in Finland in memory of President Mauno Koivisto in 2017. Mourning stamps have also been published in memory of runner Paavo Nurmi, composer Jean Sibelius and Presidents Urho Kekkonen, P.E. Svinhufvud and Kyösti Kallio.
Posti will honor the memory of Martti Ahtisaari also by making a donation to the Peace Fund of CMI.
