PARIS -- Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president who has been a tireless mediator in conflicts around the world for more than three decades, yesterday was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and expressed hope that the prize will help him raise funds for further peacemaking in hot spots to come.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee picked Mr. Ahtisaari, 71, from a 197-name list of nominees, including jailed Chinese dissidents and the recently liberated Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt. Leaving aside headline-grabbing figures, the committee honored a corpulent former schoolteacher and diplomat known for indefatigable persistence in negotiations to bring peaceful closes to wars in countries including Namibia, Indonesia, Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland.

"He is a world champion when it comes to peace, and he never gives up," Ole Danbolt Mjoes, the awards committee chairman, told reporters in Oslo.

"Through his untiring efforts and good results, he has shown what role mediation of various kinds can play in the resolution of international conflicts," the committee said in announcing the award. "The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to express the hope that others may be inspired by his efforts and his achievements."

The $1.4 million prize will be formally awarded in Oslo on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish scientist who invented dynamite and used his fortune to set up the Nobel awards upon his death in 1895. The annual recognitions, particularly the peace prize, have become the world's most prestigious awards.

Last year's peace prize was won by former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N. climate change department for their work on the environment.

China's Communist Party rulers were likely to be particularly pleased by the choice this year. A jailed Chinese activist, Hu Jia, was rumored to be on the shortlist as the Norwegian committee weighed its decision. A Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing, Qin Gang, said Tuesday that honoring Mr. Hu would have been "against the purpose of such a prize," because he was convicted of "subverting the state" by posting anti-government opinions on the Web and criticizing the party in interviews with foreign journalists.