Asking for her age, Sanna Marin brushes aside. She never thought about that, says the Social Democrat, nor about her gender. Instead, she does something else: "We have to work hard now to regain trust."
This enjoyed her party colleague Antii Rinne, who took over the office of the Finnish Prime Minister only half a year ago, not last. Plans by the state postal service to cut the wages of 700 parcel sorters led to a government crisis. The main coalition partner, the Center Party, denied his allegiance. Rinne stepped back.
Now Marin succeeds him. Parliament approved the staff. Later in the afternoon, the deputy party leader of the Social Democrats and former Transport Minister is sworn in as prime minister.
The youngest head of government in the world
Content will not change much; Marin has already announced that he will stick to the government program. Personnel, however, the reorientation is all the more remarkable.
In the history of Finland Marin is the third woman at the head of a government. At just 34, she is not just the youngest Prime Minister the country has ever had. As long as Sebastian Kurz (33) has not formed a new government in Austria, she would also be the youngest head of government in the world - younger than the Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk (35) and the New Zealander Jacinda Ardern (39).
The change at the top is not the only personnel change in the government: Katri Kulmuni becomes Minister of Finance. The 32-year-old has been at the head of the Center Party since September, the second strongest party in the Alliance after the Social Democrats.
In the video portrait: Finland's new Prime Minister
Dursun Aydemir / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Thus, the most important positions in the Finnish Government and the coalition it holds are held by five women. Four of them are younger than 35: along with Marin and Kulmuni, they are the Minister of Education and Head of the Left Alliance, 32-year-old Li Andersson, and Maria Ohisalo, 34, Minister of the Interior and Leader of the Green League. Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson (55) heads the Swedish People's Party of Finland, which represents the minority of Finland's Swedes.
His party was not in the government, tweeted the former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. He was pleased, however, that the five governing parties were led by women. "This shows that Finland is a modern and progressive country," wrote the politician of the center-right party NCP, who is now vice-president of the European Investment Bank. At some point, gender would no longer play a role in government matters; until then, Finland would be a pioneer.
My party is not in government, but I rejoice that the leaders of the five parties in government are female. Shows that #Finland is a modern and progressive country. The majority of my government. One day gender does not matter in government. Meanwhile, pioneers. pic.twitter.com/dW8OMEOiqb
- Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) December 9, 2019A steep career, an extraordinary biography
Four of the five women are at the head of their respective party. Marin is vice-chairman of the Social Democrats; In the coming year she will probably take over the party leadership. For the 34-year-old, the swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister is the culmination of a steep career - and the next twist in an extraordinary biography.
The future Prime Minister grew up as a child of a single mother, who later lived with her partner in a same-sex relationship. During this time, she felt "invisible" because she could not speak openly about her family, she told a Finnish website in 2015. She had just moved into parliament: at the age of 29.
Marin is the mother of a 22-month-old daughter. She is the first person in her family to attend a university. Before graduating with a masters degree in public administration, she served as chair of the city council of Tampere, Finland's third-largest city. At the beginning of the year she acted as acting chairman of the Social Democrats; she represented Rinne, who took a break due to illness.
Now she takes over the government office from him. The first challenge is imminent. Finland currently holds the EU Presidency. The heads of state and government will meet in Brussels on Thursday.