34-Year-Old Sanna Marin Of Finland Set To Become Youngest PM Ever

Selected to lead the Social Democratic Party in Finland, Sanna Marin is all set to become the youngest ever Prime Minister in history. The 34-year-old Finland's former transport minister will be the third female Prime Minister in Finland's history.

Key Takeaways:

• At 34 years of age, Sanna Marin is all set to become the youngest ever sitting Prime Minister in history. She is also the third female Prime Minister in Finland.
• After becoming the head of the city council of her industrial hometown of Tampere at the age of 27, she had swift rise in politics.
• Interestingly, four other parties in Finland’s coalition government are also led by women.
• Post her appointment as the Prime Minister, she is expected to represent Finland at the Dec 12, EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.

Marin's political career took a swift rise after she was appointed as the head of the city council of her industrial hometown of Tampere at the age of 27.

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Third Female Government Leader In Finland

According to The Guardian, Marin's party is the largest in a five-member-government coalition. Also, she is the third female government leader in Finland. After her appointment as the Prime Minister, she will be the youngest ever sitting Prime Minister in history, followed by Kim Jong Un who is said to be 35 years old. “We have a lot of work ahead to rebuild trust,” Marin told reporters after winning a narrow vote among the party leadership. “I have never thought about my age or gender, I think of the reasons I got into politics and those things for which we have won the trust of the electorate.”

Joined Politics At The Age Of 27

Marin's political career took a swift rise after she was appointed as the head of the city council of her industrial hometown of Tampere at the age of 27. “We have a joint government program which glues the coalition together,” Marin said. Marin's appointment as the Prime Minister comes after the resignation of Antti Juhani Rinne. Rinne resigned from his post of Prime Minister after a party in the coalition said it had lost confidence in him following his handling of a postal strike.

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Women-Led Coalition Parties In The Government

Interestingly, the other four parties in the coalition government are led by women. The Left Alliance is led by Li Anderson, 32; the Green League is led by Maria Ohisalo, 34; the Centre Party is led by Katri Kulmuni, 32; and Anna-Maja Henriksson, 55, is head of the Swedish People’s party.

“I have never thought about my age or gender, I think of the reasons I got into politics and those things for which we have won the trust of the electorate.”

Also, some prominent positions in the government are occupied by women. Deputy Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Tuula Haatainen(F) will take over for Timo Harakka(M) as the Minister of Employment, while Harakka will be named the successor of Marin as the Minister of Transport and Communications. Tytti Tuppurainen (F), the Minister for European Affairs, will be made responsible for ownership steering, while Rinne (M) will take over for Haatainen as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament. Sirpa Paatero (F), who has been on sick leave since stepping down as the Minister of Local Government and Ownership Steering on 29 November, will be reinstated as the Minister of Local Government on 13 December, according to Helsinki Times.

Picture Credits: The Guardian

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