Sanna Marin

Sanna Mirella Marin (Finnish: [ˈsɑnːɑ ˈmirelːɑ ˈmɑriːn]; born 16 November 1985) is a Finnish politician who served as prime minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023 and as the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) from 2020 to 2023. She was a Member of Parliament from 2015 to 2023. She was re-elected as member of parliament in April 2023 but resigned to become a strategic adviser on political leaders' reform programmes in the Tony Blair Institute in September 2023.

Marin was born in Helsinki but as a child moved with her mother to Tampere, where she later graduated from the University of Tampere in 2017. She joined the Social Democratic Youth in 2006, later serving as its vice president from 2010 to 2012. She served as a member of the City Council of Tampere and was later elected member of Parliament. Following Antti Rinne's resignation in the wake of the postal strike controversy, Marin was selected as prime minister on 8 December 2019. Taking office at the age of 34, she was the youngest person to hold the office in Finnish history.

As prime minister, Marin led the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by invoking a state of emergency. She condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine. Together with president Sauli Niinistö, she announced that Finland would apply for NATO membership in May 2022; Finland successfully joined NATO in April 2023. In the 2023 parliamentary election, her party lost its status as the largest party, coming in as third in vote and seat share, and she was succeeded as prime minister by Petteri Orpo of the National Coalition Party. She was the leader of the SDP until September 2023, when she retired from Finnish politics.

Early life and education

Sanna Mirella Marin was born on 16 November 1985 in Helsinki. She also lived in Espoo and Pirkkala before moving to Tampere. Her parents separated when she was very young; the family faced financial problems and Marin's father, Lauri Marin, struggled with alcoholism. After her biological parents separated, Marin was brought up by her mother and her mother's female partner.

Marin graduated from the Pirkkala High School (Pirkkalan Yhteislukio) in 2004 at the age of 19, becoming the first person in her immediate family to graduate from high school. She then worked in a bakery and as a cashier, among other jobs, while studying at the University of Tampere from 2007 to 2017. She obtained her bachelor's and master's degree in administrative science in 2012 and 2017, respectively, majoring in municipal and regional governance. She was the first person in her family to attend university.

Early political career

Marin's political career was described by the BBC as "beginning at the age of 20", in the years following her high school graduation and beginning her affiliation with the Social Democratic Youth. Marin joined the Social Democratic Youth in 2006 and served as its first director from 2010 to 2012.

In 2008, she ran unsuccessfully for election to the City Council of Tampere, but stood again and was elected in the 2012 elections. She became chairwoman of the City Council within months, serving from 2013 to 2017. In 2017, she was re-elected to the City Council. She first gained prominence after video clips of her chairing contentious meetings were shared on YouTube.

Marin was elected second deputy chairman of the SDP in 2014. In 2015, she was elected to the Finnish Parliament as an MP from the electoral district of Pirkanmaa. Four years later, she was re-elected. On 6 June 2019, she became Minister of Transport and Communications. On 23 August 2020, Marin was elected chair of the SDP, succeeding Antti Rinne.

Prime Minister of Finland (2019–2023)

In December 2019, Marin was nominated by the SDP to succeed Antti Rinne as the Prime Minister of Finland, but Rinne formally remained party leader until June 2020. In a narrow vote, Marin prevailed over Antti Lindtman. A majority of the ministers in her five-party cabinet were women, numbering 12 out of 19 at the time of the cabinet's formation. She is the third and longest-serving female head of government in Finland, after Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Mari Kiviniemi.

Upon her confirmation by the Finnish parliament at the age of 34, she became Finland's youngest-ever Prime Minister, making her the then youngest serving head of government until Sebastian Kurz regained that description in January 2020.

During the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Marin Cabinet invoked a state of emergency in Finland to alleviate the epidemic. When Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven could not attend a European Council meeting in October 2020 because of his mother's funeral, Marin stepped in to represent Sweden. In return, Marin asked Löfven to represent Finland at a Council meeting later that month.

Marin's SDP came third in the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election. She announced that she would resign as leader of SDP at the party congress, to be held in autumn. She was succeeded by Petteri Orpo as prime minister of Finland on 20 June 2023.

Foreign policy

In March 2021, Marin condemned the persecution of ethnic Uyghurs in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. She emphasised that "trade or the economy is not a reason to ignore these atrocities".

Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 24 February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. On 25 February, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson threatened Finland and Sweden with "military and political consequences" if they attempted to join NATO, which neither were then actively seeking. Both countries had attended an emergency NATO summit as members of NATO's Partnership for Peace and both had condemned the invasion and had provided assistance to Ukraine.

In February, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Marin commented on Finland's potential membership, observing: "It is also now clear that the debate on NATO membership in Finland will change", while noting that a Finnish application to NATO would require widespread political and public support.

In March 2022, she said the EU needed to end its dependency on Russian oil, adding that "we have these very tough economic sanctions on the one hand, and on the other hand we are financing the Russian war by buying oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels from Russia."

On 4 March 2022, President of Finland Sauli Niinistö visited Washington, D.C. to meet with President Joe Biden and a number of other U.S. politicians and security personnel. In a press conference with Finnish media, Niinistö said that in the meeting the presidents discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on European and Finnish security. Furthermore they agreed on deepening Finnish-US security co-operation and bilateral relations. On 26 May 2022, Marin went to Kyiv at the invitation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, where she met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visited the war-torn cities of Irpin and Bucha. On 26 May 2022, Marin also signed a bilateral framework agreement on the rebuilding of Ukraine's education with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. On 31 May, she welcomed a deal agreed by all EU leaders to ban more than 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, voting for it in the European Council.

In late November and early December 2022, Marin visited New Zealand and Australia, becoming the first Finnish prime minister to visit the two countries. She met with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and covered several issues including bilateral trade relations, the global economic situation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and climate change mitigation.

On 10 March 2022, Marin said Finland could discuss transferring F/A-18 Hornets to Ukraine, subject to international cooperation, training requirements and Finland's own security situation. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö denied any discussions over the issue. The Finnish Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen said that the Hornets would be required for the foreseeable future. Marin re-iterated her call for a fighter aircraft discussion as "the next big question" after main battle tanks, stating that Ukraine's defense against Russia requires heavier weaponry. She emphasized that Finland has no position on the issue yet.