Sanna Mirella Marin is a Finnish politician who has served as prime Minister of Finland since 2019, as member of Parliament for the Social Democratic Party of Finland since 2015, and as leader of the SDP since 2020.
51 Facts About Sanna Marin
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Sanna Marin has stated she will resign as leader of the SDP at the 2023 party congress in autumn, but will remain a member of Parliament.
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Sanna Marin was born in Helsinki but later moved to Tampere where she graduated from the University of Tampere.
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Sanna Marin joined the Social Democratic Youth in 2006, later serving as its vice president from 2010 to 2012.
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Sanna Marin served as a member of the City Council of Tampere and was later elected member of Parliament.
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Sanna Marin condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine.
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Sanna Marin was dubbed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as "the icon of progressive leadership".
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Sanna Mirella Marin was born on 16 November 1985 in Helsinki.
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Sanna Marin lived in Espoo and Pirkkala before moving to Tampere.
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Sanna Marin's parents separated when she was very young; the family faced financial problems and Marin's father, Lauri Marin, struggled with alcoholism.
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Sanna Marin graduated from the Pirkkala High School in 2004 at the age of 19.
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Sanna Marin worked in a bakery and as a cashier while studying, graduating with a bachelor's and master's degrees in Administrative Science from the University of Tampere.
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Sanna Marin joined the Social Democratic Youth in 2006 and served as its first director from 2010 to 2012.
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Sanna Marin became chairwoman of the City Council within months, serving from 2013 to 2017.
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Sanna Marin first gained prominence after video clips of her chairing contentious meetings were shared on YouTube.
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Sanna Marin was elected second deputy chairman of the SDP in 2014.
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On 23 August 2020, Sanna Marin was elected chair of the SDP, succeeding Antti Rinne.
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In December 2019, Sanna Marin was nominated by the SDP to succeed Antti Rinne as the Prime Minister of Finland, but Rinne formally remained party leader until June 2020.
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Sanna Marin is the third and longest-serving female head of government in Finland, after Anneli Jaatteenmaki and Mari Kiviniemi.
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When Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven could not attend a European Council meeting in October 2020 because of his mother's funeral, Sanna Marin stepped in to represent Sweden.
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In return, Sanna Marin asked Lofven to represent Finland at a Council meeting later that month.
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Sanna Marin's SDP came third in the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election.
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In March 2021, Sanna Marin condemned the persecution of ethnic Uyghurs in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
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Sanna Marin emphasised that "trade or the economy is not a reason to ignore these atrocities".
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In February, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sanna Marin commented on Finland's potential membership, observing: "It is clear that the debate on NATO membership in Finland will change", while noting that a Finnish application to NATO would require widespread political and public support.
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Sanna Marin said she was surprised by Turkey's opposition to Finland's NATO membership.
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Sanna Marin said her country did not want permanent NATO bases or nuclear weapons on its territory.
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On 26 May 2022, Sanna Marin went to Kyiv at the invitation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, where she met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visited the war-torn cities of Irpin and Bucha.
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On 26 May 2022, Sanna Marin signed a bilateral framework agreement on the rebuilding of Ukraine's education with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
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In late November and early December 2022, Sanna Marin visited New Zealand and Australia, becoming the first Finnish prime minister to visit the two countries.
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Sanna Marin met with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and covered several issues including bilateral trade relations, the global economic situation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and climate change mitigation.
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Sanna Marin re-iterated her call for a fighter aircraft discussion as "the next big question" after main battle tanks, stating that Ukraine's defense against Russia requires heavier weaponry.
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Sanna Marin emphasized that Finland has no position on the issue yet.
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Sanna Marin stated that she did not know the limit.
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Sanna Marin's family have resided in the Kesaranta residence unusually much for a Prime Minister due to the restrictions and practicalities during the pandemic.
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In early December 2021, Sanna Marin visited a night club in Helsinki with some friends; earlier that day she had been in contact with Finland's foreign minister, who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, thus exposing the Prime Minister to the infection.
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Sanna Marin was informed of this and advised by an Undersecretary of State that she did not need to self-isolate, as she was fully vaccinated.
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However, Sanna Marin didn't receive the messages because she was only carrying her parliamentary work phone; the governmental work phone has different security restrictions for its usage.
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Two complaints about Sanna Marin's behaviour were filed to the Chancellor of Justice, who subsequently exonerated her.
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Sanna Marin apologised for the image and called it "not appropriate".
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In October 2022, Sanna Marin apologised to the indigenous Sami people for the delays in the reform of the Sami human rights legislation.
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Sanna Marin stated that she would bring the legislation for a parliamentary vote even without Centre Party support.
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On 2 April 2023, Sanna Marin conceded defeat to her center-right rivals, the National Coalition, led by Petteri Orpo, as her party came in third in the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election, behind Orpo's NCP and the nationalists Finns, led by Riikka Purra.
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Sanna Marin was re-elected with a Pirkanmaa district record of 35,623 votes.
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In January 2018, Sanna Marin had a daughter with her partner, former TPV footballer Markus Raikkonen.
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Sanna Marin describes herself as coming from a "rainbow family", as she was raised by two female parents.
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Sanna Marin was the first person in her family to attend university.
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Sanna Marin was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.
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Sanna Marin was selected for the cover of Time magazine's "Time100 Next" theme issue, which showcases one hundred influential leaders from around the world.
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In 2022, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said Sanna Marin was an icon of progressive leadership.
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Domestically, Sanna Marin received the Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland.