Finland’s Sanna Marin to become world’s youngest head of government
by Rasheed Sobowale
At 34, Sanna Marin will become the world’s youngest sitting prime minister when she is sworn in by the Finnish parliament on Tuesday, but she is far from lacking in political experience.
The former transport minister gained a reputation as a tough, straight-talking operator from her five years as leader of the city council in her hometown of Tampere, where she took office in 2012 aged 27.
Marin’s rise to the pinnacle of Finnish government means that when she takes over as head of the Social Democratic Party next year, women will hold the top job in each of the five parties in Finland’s governing centre-left coalition, and all but one of the leaders are aged under 35.
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Marin becomes not only Finland’s youngest-ever prime minister, but also the world’s youngest sitting head of government, ahead of Ukraine’s Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, who is currently 35.
After being selected by her Social Democratic party on Sunday to replace outgoing PM Antti Rinne, who quit last week over his handling of a postal strike, Marin deflected questions about her age.
[AFP]