Finland became the country with the world's youngest sitting head of government Tuesday when the Nordic country's parliament chose a 34-year-old woman with liberal views and a down-to-earth style as prime minister.
Lawmakers in the 200-seat Eduskunta voted 99-70 to make Sanna Marin, a Social Democrat who served as transport and communications minister in the outgoing administration, the leader of afive-party, center-left coalition government.
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Finland became the country with the world's youngest sitting head of government Tuesday when the Nordic country's parliament chose a 34-year-old woman with liberal views and a down-to-earth style as prime minister.
Rinne, 57, stepped down a week ago after a key coalition partner, the Center Party, withdrew its support, citing lack of trust.
She has told Finnish media about growing up in what she described as modest circumstances, past struggles to identify her way in life, and the fulfillment she found in politics.
Marin became the youngest leader of a government in the world, beating out Ukraine's 35-year-old prime minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk.
She became a national lawmaker in 2015.
Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark contributed to this story.
The four other parties in the coalition are led by women — three of whom also are in their early 30s. Marin, the No. 2 official in the Social Democratic Party, succeeds Antti Rinne as prime minister.
The new Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, 2nd right, with Minister of Education Li Andersson, left, Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni, 2nd left, and Minister of Interior Maria Ohisalo, right, after the first meeting of the new government in Helsinki, Finland on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. Finland’s parliament chose Sanna Marin as the country's new prime minister Tuesday, making the 34-year-old the world’s youngest sitting head of government. (Heikki SaukkomaaLehtikuva via AP)
Rinne, 57, stepped down a week ago after a key coalition partner, the Center Party, withdrew its support, citing lack of trust.
Marin is the third women picked to become Finland's prime minister. The first, Anneli Jaatteenmaki, served for part of 2003. The second, Mari Kiviniemi, governed for a yearlong period between 2010 and 2011.
Seen as a liberal advocate for climate and environment issues, Marin was raised in a "rainbow family" headed by two women.
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto, left, and Prime Minister Sanna Marin shake hands to welcome the new government of Finland in Helsinki, Finland on Tuesday Dec. 10, 2019. Finland’s parliament chose Sanna Marin as the country's new prime minister Tuesday, making the 34-year-old the world’s youngest sitting head of government. (Jussi NukariLehtikuva via AP)
She has told Finnish media about growing up in what she described as modest circumstances, past struggles to identify her way in life, and the fulfillment she found in politics.
After the vote in favor of her appointment, Marin reacted with a faint smile. President Saul later greeted her and her Cabinet, which has women holding 12 of the 19 minister positions.
The timing means she will be able to represent Finland at the European Union summit in Brussels later this week . Finland currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency until the end of the year.
Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, center, chairs her first government meeting in Helsinki, Finland on Tuesday Dec. 10, 2019. Finland’s parliament chose Sanna Marin as the country's new prime minister Tuesday, making the 34-year-old the world’s youngest sitting head of government. (Jussi NukariLehtikuva via AP)
Marin became the youngest leader of a government in the world, beating out Ukraine's 35-year-old prime minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk.
But she might not hold the title for long. Sebastian Kurz, 33, the former Austrian chancellor who rose to that position at age 31, is in talks to form a new coalition that would put him back in the job.
Marin's rise to the top level of Finnish politics was rapid. When she was 27, she took over as city council leader in her hometown of Tampere, an industrial and university town in southern Finland.
Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, center, chairs her first government meeting in Helsinki, Finland on Tuesday Dec. 10, 2019. Finland’s parliament chose Sanna Marin as the country's new prime minister Tuesday, making the 34-year-old the world’s youngest sitting head of government. (Jussi NukariLehtikuva via AP)
She became a national lawmaker in 2015.
Beside Marin, the coalition's other party leaders are 32-year-old Katri Kulmuni of the Center Party; the Left Alliance's Li Andersson, 32; Maria Ohisalo, the 34-year-old leader of the Greens; and the head of the Swedish People’s Party, Anna-Maja Henriksson, who at 55 is the oldest.
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Social democrats minister Sanna Marin faces the media after she was elected as the new Prime Minister of Finland, in Helsinki, Finland, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. Finland’s parliament chose Sanna Marin as the country's new prime minister Tuesday, making the 34-year-old the world’s youngest sitting head of government. (Heikki SaukkomaaLehtikuva via AP)
Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark contributed to this story.
President of Finland Sauli Niinisto, left, greets the new Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, center, before a meeting in Helsinki, Finland on Tuesday Dec. 10, 2019. Finland’s parliament chose Sanna Marin as the country's new prime minister Tuesday, making the 34-year-old the world’s youngest sitting head of government. (Jussi NukariLehtikuva via AP)