Ahtisaari was a UN Special Envoy at the Kosovo status process negotiations . In November 2005 , UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Ahtisaari as Special Envoy for the Kosovo status process which was to determine whether Kosovo , having been administered by the United Nations since 1999 , should become independent or remain a province of Serbia . In early 2006 , Ahtisaari opened the UN Office of the Special Envoy for Kosovo ( UNOSEK ) in Vienna , Austria , from where he conducted the Kosovo status negotiations .