Sanna Marin

Profile Overview

Sanna Mirella Marin (born 16 November 1985) is a Finnish politician who served as prime minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023 and as the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) from 2020 to 2023. She was a Member of Parliament from 2015 to 2023. She was re-elected as member of parliament in April 2023 but resigned to become a strategic adviser on political leaders' reform programmes in the Tony Blair Institute in September 2023.
Marin was born in Helsinki but as a child moved with her mother to Tampere, where she later graduated from the University of Tampere in 2017. She joined the Social Democratic Youth in 2006, later serving as its vice president from 2010 to 2012. She served as a member of the City Council of Tampere and was later elected member of Parliament. Following Antti Rinne's resignation in the wake of the postal strike controversy, Marin was selected as prime minister on 8 December 2019. Taking office at the age of 34, she was the youngest person to hold the office in Finnish history.
As prime minister, Marin led the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by invoking a state of emergency. She condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine. Together with president Sauli Niinistö, she announced that Finland would apply for NATO membership in May 2022; Finland successfully joined NATO in April 2023. In the 2023 parliamentary election, her party lost its status as the largest party, coming in as third in vote and seat share, and she was succeeded as prime minister by Petteri Orpo of the National Coalition Party. She was the leader of the SDP until September 2023, when she retired from Finnish politics.