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

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

peace process. He was also involved in negotiations leading to the release of Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by the

West Papua National Liberation Army The West Papua National Liberation Army (; abbreviated as TPNPB), officially referred to in Indonesia as the Armed Criminal Group (, abbreviated as KKB), and after 2021, Separatist Terrorist Group (, abbreviated as KST), is a Western New Guinea ...

(TPNPB) during the 2023

Nduga hostage crisis The Nduga hostage crisis began on 7 February 2023 when Free Papua Movement (, OPM) insurgents attacked a plane and took its pilot and all five passengers hostage. While the passengers were soon released, New Zealander pilot Phillip Mark Mehrten ...

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 (, GAM; ) was a separatism, separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra, Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government forces in the Insurgency in Aceh, Aceh insurgency from 1976 to 2005. E ...

. In February 2004 Christensen contacted

Martti Ahtisaari Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (, 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland, from 1994 to 2000, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediation, mediator noted for his inte ...

, the former

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland (; ) is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024 Finnish presidential election, 2024. The presi ...

, 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 CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation sr (in 2000–2021 ''Crisis Management Initiative ry'') is an independent Finnish non-governmental organisation that works to prevent and resolve conflict through informal dialogue and mediation. Nobel P ...

). 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 (AMM) until 2006. In 2015, Christensen negotiated the surrender and disarming of Din Minimi, a former GAM militant, and 30 of his followers east of

Banda Aceh Banda Aceh (; , Jawi script, Jawi: ) 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 35 metres. The city covers an area of and had a population of 223,446 peopl ...

. 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