Even as Kai Eide was deciding that Kosovo was ready for final status talks, the process of deciding who should be the special envoy for final status was underway. Several distinguished international diplomats had experienced close contact with Kosovo or Bosnia, and therefore were credible candidates. Eide himself was a candidate, and most inside observers thought he wanted the additional role. His country, however, was not a member of the EU. Other contenders surfaced during the course of 2005, including Giulano Amato, former prime minister of Italy, and George Robertson, former NATO Secretary General. Robertson turned out not to be interested, and Amato was seen as too aggressive in promoting his own candidacy. From early 2005, the two leading candidates were Carl Bildt and former president of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. Bildt was ultimately rejected because of his reputation for being a bull in a china shop, and because the United States mistrusted him, as unpredictable and tied too closely to Belgrade. The United States did not pick a fight with him, but the fact was Bildt was a marginal player in major decisions, and he never really tried to buck the tide.

Martti Ahtisaari was appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations for the Future Status Process for Kosovo in October 2005. “There were many people who were qualified, in some sense, to guide the final status negotiations,” said one experienced diplomat, “but Martti Ahtisaari was the best of them. Everyone knew him and respected him.