I think we have grave problems. I am very much concerned about environmental questions, even though in Finnish society, we are not facing the most urgent problems.

Peace enforcement is a much more difficult kind of operation than peacekeeping.

Finland had a civil war less than 100 years ago, just like in Ireland. If you look at the history of newly independent nations, civil war is almost every time present, even in the United States.

The Baltic Sea is becoming more and more polluted. Not everybody living near the shore of the Baltic Sea is protecting it. It is the water of life for countries like Finland and Sweden.

If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, that you know nothing but the truth and that is final, you will get nothing.

When the problems in Northern Ireland started, it was not a question of Protestantism or Catholicism, because the Catholic church was the only church at that time-it was a nationalist conflict.

In international or national crises, there are always questions of lack of confidence. You have to change the minds of the people in order to get results.

I do not want to speak about overpopulation or birth control, but I think education is the way to give new impetus to the poverty question.

If we go back in the history of different nations, violence and the use of force are part of their heritage. These are the traditions of mankind.

If there is something I would like to do as President of the General Assembly, it is to place more emphasis on the issue of education, which enables a better life for women.

My opinion on who's wrong or who's right has nothing to do with the fact that we have to bring together people who are against each other, to transform antagonism into cooperation.

The thinner the ice, the more anxious is everyone to see whether it will bear.

People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit.

I don't really have any women in my life, actually those two - the women in my life are two married women who work at my office.

Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?

What exists, is possible.

Don't you think you're quite young?' 'I'm twenty-one,' said Brida. 'If I wanted to start learning ballet, I'd be conseidered too old.

Wealth is a responsibility and the sharing of it a way of life.

If others don't use their gifts, you get cheated, and if you don;t use your gifts, they get cheated.

You learn by reading but understand by LOVE.