Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who was one of Europe’s youngest leaders and a strong voice for Ukraine, announced on Thursday that she was quitting politics and joining a nonprofit based in London.
Marin, who was 37 when she took office in 2019, led a centre-left five-party coalition government until April. She has received praise for her cabinet’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and her vocal support for Ukraine over the past year has increased her international visibility. She also saw her country become the 31st member of NATO.
“It’s time to move on,” she said, according to Finnish public broadcaster YLE. “I can’t wait to step into a new role. I also believe that this can benefit the whole of Finland.
In April, Finland joined the NATO military alliance, dealing a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a historic realignment of Europe’s post-Cold War security landscape sparked by the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow. Finland adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II, but its leaders have indicated they want to join NATO after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine sent shivers down the spine of fear. his neighbors.
“I believe I can serve those voters (in Finland) well and maybe even better in this new mission,” Marin told a news conference as he announced his departure from Finland’s 200-seat Eduskunta parliament. Earlier this month, she resigned as leader of the Social Democratic Party.
Marin will join the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and earlier this month the nonprofit announced she would become a “strategic advisor”.
“The task will be to advise different countries, governments and leaders on political issues that are familiar to me, such as good governance, technology, climate, gender equality and other issues that I have had to work with. “, she said. according to the newspaper Huvudstadsbladet, one of the largest in Finland.
In April’s parliamentary elections, it lost to Finland’s main conservative party in a tight three-way race that saw right-wing populists take second place. Marin’s Social Democrats finished third, dashing his re-election hopes.
As Prime Minister, she led a coalition government comprising her own Social Democrats, the Center Party, the Green League, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People’s Party in Finland.
His private life and active use of social media received wide international coverage during his tenure as Prime Minister. In August 2022, she apologized after posting a photo showing two women kissing and posing topless at the country’s leader’s official summer residence.
The photo was posted after a video showing Marin dancing and singing with friends sparked a debate over whether a sitting prime minister had the right to party hard.
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