At 34, Finland's Sanna Marin to become world's youngest Prime Minister
On December 8, Finland's transport minister Sanna Marin was selected to lead the Social Democratic Party, making her the youngest Prime Minister the country and the world has ever had.
Sanna Marin, the current transport minister of Finland will soon become the world's youngest prime minister at the age of just 34.
Winning the narrow vote of the Social Democrat lawmakers, she will be replacing outgoing Prime Minister Antti Rinne, who resigned earlier in December, just six months into his term after a political ally withdrew its support.
Marin has been part of Finland's Parliament since 2015, and has served as the country's transport minister since June 2019.
According to the Agence France-Presse, Marin said,
"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,"
She was also reported saying that she has "a lot of work ahead to rebuild trust."
Once Marin assumes office as Prime Minister, all five major parties in Finland's parliament will be led by women, four of whom are in their 30s - Left Alliance's Li Andersson, 32; Green League's Maria Ohisalo, 34; Centre Party's Katri Kulmuni, 32; and Swedish People's Party of Finland's Anna-Maja Henriksson, 55.
Born in Helsinki, Marin lived in Espoo and Pirkkala before moving to Tampere for higher education. She was also raised by two mothers, and has a child of her own with her partner Markus Räikkönen.
As we approach a new decade, it’s important for young people to be given the opportunity to lead and take charge. With new ideas and a more progressive approach towards issues, it’s likely that young leaders will work towards quicker and more efficient improvement of quality of life around the world.
Jacinda Ardern, the 39-year-old Prime Minister of New Zealand is the only other woman under the age of 40 to lead a country today. Between April and October 2017, Vanessa D'Ambrosio at 27 also served as the Captain Regent of San Marino, a micro-state situated near Italy.
(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)
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