Female minister, 34, tapped to become Finland's youngest PM

A 34-year-old minister and lawmaker has been tapped to become Finland's youngest prime minister ever and its third female government leader.

The council of Finland's ruling Social Democratic Party in a tight 32-29 vote late Sunday picked Sanna Marin over rival Antti Lindtman to take over the government's top post from incumbent Antti Rinne.

Having emerged as Finland's largest party in the April election, the Social Democrats can appoint one of their own to the post of prime minister in the Nordic nation of 5.5 million.

Marin has been the party's vice chairwoman, a lawmaker since 2015 and served as until this week as the minster for transport and communications.

Prime Minister Antti Rinne stepped down Tuesday after a key coalition partner, the Center Party, withdrew its support, citing lack of trust. The Center Party also criticized Rinne's leadership skills prior to a two-week strike by the country’s state-owned postal service Posti in November that spread to other industries.