Finland gets new prime minister
Estonia's northern neighbor Finland has a new prime minister, Sanna Marin (SDP), who was chosen by her party to replace Antti Rinne, who quit early last week.
Marin, 34, from Helsinki, will be the youngest current sitting prime minister worldwide, and will head-up a center-left coalition of five parties, all of which are led by women.
Finland's government is now led by these five party leaders. #newgeneration pic.twitter.com/vis0qB9tO8
— Tuomas Niskakangas (@TNiskakangas) December 8, 2019
Marin, who is expected to be sworn-in this week by President Sauli Niinistö, is the third woman to hold the post.
"We have a lot of work to do to rebuild trust," Marin said, according to the BBC, after winning the vote by a narrow margin.
Antti Rinne, who only became prime minister in June, had stepped down after the coalition Center Party (Keskustapuolue) withdrew its confidence in him over his handling of a postal strike, which recently ended.
As in Estonia, Finnish prime ministers and governmental ministers do not sit in parliament, but hold collective ministerial responsibility across 12 ministries and can initiate legislation, as can the 200-seat parliament (Eduskunta/riksdag). Finland currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
