Wikipedia

Sanna Marin

Prime Minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023

Sanna Mirella Marin (born 16 November 1985) is a Finnish former politician. Marin was the Prime Minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023. She is a member of the Social Democrats. She was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 2015 to 2023. She was the Minister of Transport and Communications for a short time in 2019.[3]

Sanna Marin
Marin in 2023
46th Prime Minister of Finland
In office
10 December 2019 – 20 June 2023
PresidentSauli Niinistö
DeputyKatri Kulmuni
Matti Vanhanen
Annika Saarikko
Preceded byAntti Rinne
Succeeded byPetteri Orpo
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office
23 August 2020 – 1 September 2023
Preceded byAntti Rinne
Succeeded byAntti Lindtman
Minister of Transport and Communications
In office
6 June 2019 – 10 December 2019
Prime MinisterAntti Rinne
Preceded byAnu Vehviläinen
Succeeded byTimo Harakka
Member of the Finnish Parliament
In office
22 April 2015 – 12 September 2023
ConstituencyPirkanmaa
Personal details
Born
Sanna Mirella Marin

(1985-11-16) 16 November 1985 (age 38)[1][2]
Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
Political partySocial Democratic
Spouse(s)
Markus Räikkönen
​
​
(m. 2020; div. 2023)​
Children1
EducationUniversity of Tampere

After Antti Rinne left his position as prime minister, the Social Democratic Party of Finland selected Marin as its candidate for the new prime minister on 8 December 2019.[4][5] Taking office at age 34, she is the youngest person to hold the office in Finnish history.[6][7]

As prime minister, Marin was in charge of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She called out the human rights abuses of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. With President Sauli Niinistö, she announced that Finland would apply for NATO membership in May 2022. She was also criticized, mainly because of a October 2020 photoshoot and leaked private party videos. In 2022, she was called by an "the icon of progressive leadership" by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The SDP finished third in the 2023 parliamentary election, ending Marin's time as prime minister in June 2023. Three months later, she retired from politics.

Early life

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Sanna Mirella Marin was born on 16 November 1985 in Helsinki.[8][2] Her parents split up when she was very young. The family faced financial problems and Marin's father, Lauri Marin, was an alcoholic.[9] After her biological parents separated, Marin was brought up by her mother and her mother's female partner.[10][11]

Marin graduated from the Pirkkala High School in 2004 at the age of 19.[12] She joined the Social Democratic Youth in 2006 and was its first vice president from 2010 to 2012.[13][8] She worked in a bakery and as a cashier while studying.[14] She graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in Administrative Science from the University of Tampere.[10][14]

Early political career

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Marin's political career began when she was aged 20.[15] She unsuccessfully ran for election to the City Council of Tampere, but was elected in the 2012 elections.[15][8][16] She became chairperson of the City Council within months, from 2013 to 2017.[10] In 2017, she was re-elected to the City Council.[17][14]

Marin was elected second deputy chairperson of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2014.[3][10] In 2015, she was elected to the Finnish Parliament as an MP from the electoral district of Pirkanmaa.[18] Four years later, she was re-elected.[19] On 6 June 2019, she became the Minister of Transport and Communications.[20][14]

On 23 August 2020, Marin was elected chair of the SDP, replacing Antti Rinne.[21]

Prime Minister (2019–2023)

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In December 2019, Marin was nominated by the Social Democratic Party to replace Antti Rinne as the Prime Minister of Finland,[22][23] but Rinne stayed as party leader until June 2020.[24][25] By a small amount of votes, Marin beat Antti Lindtman to become prime minister. A majority of the ministers in her cabinet are women, 12 out of 19 at the time of the cabinet's creation.[26][27] She is the third female head of government in Finland, after Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Mari Kiviniemi.[28][29][25]

When she was confirmed by Parliament at the age of 34, she became Finland's youngest-ever prime minister, and was the youngest state leader until Sebastian Kurz became Chancellor of Austria again in January 2020.[23][30][31]

 
Marin with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, October 2021

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Marin's cabinet declared a state of emergency in Finland to stop the epidemic in the country.[32] When Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven could not attend a European Council meeting in October 2020, Marin also represented Sweden in the meeting.[33] Marin later asked Löfven to represent Finland at a Council meeting later that month.[34]

In October 2020, Marin took part in a photo shoot for the Finnish magazine Trendi in which she wore a blazer with nothing underneath, causing controversy while her supporters called the critics sexist.[35]

In May 2021, Finnish media reported that Marin and her family were paying about €300 per month for groceries with public funds as a part of the Prime Minister's tax-free housing benefits.[36] This was legally questioned if a prime minister was able to do this.[37] Marin had used around 14.000 euro for her own food, which was over the limit of 2500 euro.[38] Marin claimed that she did not know the limit.[38]

 
Marin with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, March 2022

In early December 2021, Marin went celebrating in a nightclub in Helsinki hours after being in close contact with Finland's foreign minister who had tested positive for COVID-19, making her exposed to the disease.[39] Two text messages were sent to Marin's government phone saying that she should be quarantined.[39] However, Marin missed the messages because she was not carrying the phone at the time.[39] According to the government instructions, the Prime Minister should always have the governmental phone.[39][40] She apologized on Facebook and said that she had been told that going out in public was allowed because she was vaccinated.[41] Two complaints about Marin's actions were sent to the Chancellor of Justice.[42] Important members of the coalition party Centre Party said that Marin had lied to them by chaning her reasoning of going out.[43]

In early 2022, Marin announced her support of Finland joining NATO, causing a negative reaction from Russia.[44][45] After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Marin strongly wanted Finland to join NATO and called on several NATO countries to support their membership.[46] On 25 February, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson threatened Finland and Sweden with "military and political consequences" if they tried to join NATO.[47]

 
Marin in January 2023

On 12 May 2022, ten weeks after the beginning of the invasion, President Sauli Niinistö and Marin both said that "Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay" and that a NATO membership would be good for the country's security.[48] On 15 May, Niinistö and Marin announced that Finland would apply for NATO membership, and on 17 May the Finnish parliament approved the proposal 188-8.[49] She said her country did not want permanent NATO bases or nuclear weapons on its territory.[50] On 31 May, she supported a deal agreed by all European Union leaders to ban more than 90% of Russian oil by the end of the year.[51]

In August 2022, another video showed Marin dancing at another party, which caused controversy because people thought Marin was on drugs while dancing at the party.[52] Marin took a drug test on her own to prove she was not on drugs and on 22 August, the results of the test came out negative for drugs in her system.[52]

In October 2022, Marin apologised to the indigenous Sámi people for the problems in the reform of the Sámi human rights legislation.[53] The legislation has been proposed for three parliamentary terms without any progress.[54] In November, ministers voted 11–3 to send the legislation to the Finnish Parliament.[55] On 24 February 2023, the constitutional law committee voted 9–7 to suspend work on the bill, preventing the legislation from being passed.[56]

In March 2023, the SDP finished third in the 2023 parliamentary election, and soon acknowledged her defeat.[57]

On 7 September 2023, Marin announced her plans to resign as an MP to work as a strategic advisor at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.[58] On 12 September 2023 she formally resigned from the Finnish Parliament.[59]

Post-political activities

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On 28 September 2023, it was reported that she had signed with talent agency Range Media Partners.[60]

In January 2024, Marin started working in a new committee called International Task Force on Security and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.[61] According to a statement released by the Ukrainian president's office, the committee's primary role is to create a plan for Ukraine's closer engagement with the Euro-Atlantic security area.[61]

Personal life

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Marin with her cabinet members, December 2019

In January 2018, Marin and her fiancé, football player Markus Räikkönen, had a daughter, Emma.[62][63][64] In August 2020, Marin and Räikkönen were married at the prime minister's official residence, Kesäranta.[63][65] The couple divorced in May 2023, after 19 years together.[66][67]

Marin said she came from a "rainbow family",[68] as she was raised by same-sex parents.[20][69][2] She was the first person in her family to go to a university.[70]

Marin is a vegetarian.[71]

Marin was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women in 2020.[72] That same year, she was chosen by Forbes on the list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women.[73][74] In 2020 she became a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.[75] In December 2022, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation named Marin as the icon of progressive leadership.[76]

References

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  1. ↑ "Sanna Marin". Britannica. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Specia, Megan (10 December 2019). "Who is Sanna Marin, Finland's 34-Year-Old Prime Minister?". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sanna Marin Parliament of Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  4. ↑ SDP on valinnut: Sanna Marinista tulee Suomen seuraava pääministeri – suora lähetys menossa, Yle seuraa hetki hetkeltä Yle 8.12.2019
  5. ↑ Finland's Social Democrats name Marin to be youngest ever prime minister Reuters 8.12.2019
  6. ↑ "Pääministerien ikä nimitettäessä". Valtioneuvosto (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  7. ↑ "Prime Minister's age on the date of appointment". Valtioneuvosto. Archived from the original on 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Marin, Sanna (19 December 2019). "Kuka Sanna? ja Ansioluettelo". SannaMarin.net (self-published autobiography). Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020. Koulutukseltani olen hallintotieteiden maisteri Tampereen yliopistosta. Ylioppilaaksi kirjoitin Pirkkalan yhteislukiosta vuonna 2004. / Asumme mieheni Markuksen ja kaksivuotiaan tyttäremme Emman kanssa Tampereella Kalevan kaupunginosassa. ... / Juureni löytyvät neljän kunnan alueelta. Olen syntynyt Helsingissä, asunut Espoossa, veittänyt kasvu- ja kouluvuoteni Pirkkalassa ja vihdoin kotiutunut Tampereelle. [I hold a Master of Administrative Sciences from the University of Tampere. I was a student and graduated from Pirkkala High School in 2004. / I live with my husband, Markus, and our two year old daughter, Emma, in the Kaleva district of Tampere. ... / My roots are in four municipalities. I was born in Helsinki, lived in Espoo, spent my years growing up and in school in Pirkkala, and finally settled in Tampere.]
  9. ↑ "The father of Prime Minister Sanna Marini is dead". Teller Report. 2 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Burtsov, Petri; Heikkilä, Melissa (12 December 2019). "Comrades, meet Finland's new PM". Politico. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Sandelius, Ninni (January 2018). "Sanna Marin: "Juurettomuus pakottaa minut katsomaan tulevaan"". Eeva. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Esfandiari, Sahar. "The rapid rise of Sanna Marin, the 34-year-old Finnish woman set to become the youngest serving world leader". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  13. ↑ Hemmilä, Ilkka (18 May 2018). "SDP:n uraohjus nousi 10 vuodessa Pirkanmaan ääniharavaksi – Sanna Marin haluaa ravistella puolueita". Maaseudun Tulevaisuus (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 O'Connor, Philip (14 December 2019). "How did Finland's Sanna Marin become the world's youngest prime minister?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Greenall, Robert (9 December 2019). "Sanna Marin: The rising star set to lead Finland's 5.5 million". BBC News. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Candidates elected Tampere Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  17. ↑ "Elected". vaalit.fi. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  18. ↑ Candidates elected Ministry of Justice of Finland. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  19. ↑ "Valitut". tulospalvelu.vaalit.fi. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Finnish minister, 34, to be world's youngest PM". BBC News. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  21. ↑ Hakahuhta, Ari (23 August 2020). "Queenin "Älä pysäytä minua nyt" soi salissa, liikuttunut Sanna Marin: "Teidän ansiosta ja teidän vuoksenne" – Yle seuraa SDP:n kokousta" (in Finnish). Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  22. ↑ SDP on valinnut: Sanna Marinista tulee Suomen seuraava pääministeri – suora lähetys menossa, Yle seuraa hetki hetkeltä Yle 8 December 2019
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Finland's Social Democrats name Marin to be youngest ever prime minister. Reuters, 8 December 2019
  24. ↑ "Social Democrats selects Marin as its candidate to succeed Rinne". helsinkitimes.fi. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lemola, Johanna; Specia, Megan (9 December 2019). "Sanna Marin of Finland to Become World's Youngest Prime Minister". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  26. ↑ 9 December; 2019 (9 December 2019). "'I've proven my abilities': Finland's Sanna Marin becomes the world's youngest prime minister | Ottawa Citizen". National Post. Bloomberg News Updated. Retrieved 9 December 2019. {{cite news}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ Manzanaro, Sofia Sanchez (9 December 2019). "Finland's Sanna Marin becomes the world's youngest Prime Minister". euronews. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  28. ↑ "Finland anoints Sanna Marin, 34, as world's youngest-serving prime minister". The Guardian. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  29. ↑ Al Jazeera and News Agencies (9 December 2019). "Finland: Sanna Marin to Become World's Youngest PM at 34". AlJazeera.com. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  30. ↑ "Finland's Parliament picks Sanna Marin as world's youngest sitting prime minister". Japan Times. Associated Press. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  31. ↑ "Finland's new 34-year-old prime minister to be youngest in the world, backed by all-female leaders". ABC News. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  32. ↑ Teivainen, Aleksi (1 April 2020). "Poll: Social Democrats overtakes Finns Party as most popular party in Finland". Uusi Suomi. Helsinki Times. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  33. ↑ Heikkilä, Melissa (29 September 2020), Finland’s Sanna Marin to represent Sweden at EU summit Politico Europe.
  34. ↑ Heikkilä, Melissa (16 October 2020), Finnish PM Sanna Marin leaves EU summit as coronavirus precaution Politico Europe.
  35. ↑ Speare-Cole, Rebecca (16 October 2020). "Finland's prime minister Sanna Marin at centre of sexism debate after wearing low-cut blazer for magazine shoot". Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  36. ↑ "Iltalehti: Sanna Marin pays for her family's breakfast with taxpayers' money". www.helsinkitimes.fi. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  37. ↑ "Thursday's papers: PM's breakfast, Viking Sally drama, bring your own pen". Yle Uutiset. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "Valtioneuvoston kanslia selittää pääministerin ateriapalveluiden kallista hintaa – Marinin kulut paljon isommat kuin aiemmilla pääministereillä". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 "Juhlimassa ollutta pääministeri Marinia ei tavoitettu virkapuhelimesta yrityksistä huolimatta". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  40. ↑ "Finland's prime minister criticised for clubbing till 4am despite Covid exposure". The Independent. 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  41. ↑ "Sanna Marin: Finland's PM sorry for clubbing after Covid contact". BBC News. 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  42. ↑ "Marinin yökerhoillasta tehty kaksi kantelua oikeuskanslerille". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  43. ↑ "Keskustasta kova väite: "Marin valehteli meille – tarinat vaihtuvat koko ajan"". Iltalehti (in Finnish). 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  44. ↑ "Kremlin propagandakoneisto keksi tavan iskeä Niinistön ja Marinin Nato-puheisiin: "Moskova sai puukoniskun selkäänsä"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  45. ↑ "Näin Venäjällä reagoitiin Niinistön ja Marinin Nato-lausuntoihin – tutkija: sävy on sopimaton". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  46. ↑ "Finnish President: Putin's mask comes off, showing "cold face of war"". Yle. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  47. ↑ "Russia threatens Finland and Sweden over potential NATO membership". Washington Post. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  48. ↑ Niinistö, Sauli; Marin, Sanna (12 May 2022). "Joint statement by the President of the Republic and Prime Minister of Finland on Finland's NATO membership". President of the Repuublic of Finland. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  49. ↑ "Finland's Parliament approves NATO membership application". Deutsche Welle. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  50. ↑ "No Nuclear Arms or NATO Bases on Finland's Soil, Prime Minister Says". Haaretz. 19 May 2022.
  51. ↑ "PM Marin welcomes Russia oil ban as "significant step"". Yle. 31 May 2022.
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 "Finnish PM Sanna Marin tests negative for drugs after 'wild' dance party video surfaces". Yahoo. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  53. ↑ MacDougall, David (29 October 2022). "Finland's Sanna Marin apologises for lack of action on rights of indigenous Sámi people". Euronews. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  54. ↑ "Sámi parliament law delayed again as Centre takes more time". Yle. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  55. ↑ "Contested Sámi Parliament law heading to parliament following Centre pushback". Yle. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  56. ↑ Teivainen, Aleksi (27 February 2023). "Constitutional Law Committee suspends work on reforming Sami Parliament act". Helsinki Times. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  57. ↑ "Sanna Marin suffers defeat in Finland election as SDP beaten into third place". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  58. ↑ Chiappa, Claudia; Dawson, Bethany (2023-09-07). "Sanna Marin joins Tony Blair Institute". Politico. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  59. ↑ "Finland's ex-PM Marin to join Blair think tank, leave parliament". Reuters. 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  60. ↑ "Sanna Marin, film star? Ex-Finnish PM signs with talent agency". POLITICO. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 "Sanna Marin joins task force steering Ukraine's Nato accession". Yle.fi. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  62. ↑ Matson-Mäkelä, Kirsi (31 January 2019). "Kansanedustaja Sanna Marinille syntyi vauva". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 Kale, Sirin (31 March 2020). "Sanna Marin, The Youngest Female Prime Minister In The World, Talks Sexism, Imposter Syndrome, and Sustainability". Vogue. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  64. ↑ Avins, Jenni (9 December 2019). "Finland's Sanna Marin, 34, will be the world's youngest sitting prime minister". Quartz. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  65. ↑ Cruse, Ellena (2 August 2020). "Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin marries long-time love at intimate ceremony". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  66. ↑ Lehto, Essi (10 May 2023). "Finland prime minister divorces husband". Reuters. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  67. ↑ "Finland's prime minister Sanna Marin files for divorce". The Guardian. Reuters. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  68. ↑ Ng, Kate (10 December 2019). "Sanna Marin: Meet the world's youngest prime minister and daughter of a 'rainbow family'". The Independent.
  69. ↑ "Uusi valtuuston puheenjohtaja jakoi nuorena Tamperelaista" (in Finnish). Tamperelainen. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  70. ↑ Waterfield, Bruno (10 December 2019). "Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin is world's youngest leader at 34". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  71. ↑ Nurmi, Lauri (23 December 2019). "Aatteen nainen" [A woman of ideals]. www.satakunnankansa.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  72. ↑ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  73. ↑ #85 Sanna Marin – Forbes
  74. ↑ Mandalia, Bhavi (9 December 2020). "Power Forbes selected Prime Minister Sanna Marin as one of the most influential women in the world". PledgeTimes. Retrieved 9 December 2020.[permanent dead link]
  75. ↑ "World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders Community - Sanna Marin". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  76. ↑ Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks to 7.30, ABC News, 1 December 2022, retrieved 2 December 2022

Other websites

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