This article is a continuation to the series, parts 1–7 of which have been published at Her Campus Helsinki during fall 2019.
The motives behind the series are curiosity and social conscience – female leaders are still rare around the world, and this fact exposes some fundamental defects in our social systems. I want to emphasize that I am talking about national leaders here, heads of state and heads of government, who just happen to be female by association. The reason I am highlighting them is not to propose that there would be some kind of crucial difference between them and their male counterparts. Now that we have made that clear, we can dive into our quest around the world and encounter the female leaders – both liberal and conservative – we are currently able to find.
Now that we have made that clear, we can dive into our quest around the world and encounter the female leaders – both liberal and conservative – we are currently able to find. This time we are finally going to discuss Finland!
- Sanna Marin of Finland
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Our northern country got her third female prime minister as Sanna Marin assumed the office in December 10, 2019. Up to date, all female prime ministers of Finland share one thing in common – they stepped in amidst of the normal ministerial term or didn’t serve the whole period, as either them or their predecessors resigned. In Sanna Marin’s case, she assumed the office after the leader of the Social Democrat Party, Antti Rinne, resigned due to a wide distrust in the government caused primarily by garbled trade union policies.
As we know, Finland is a representative democracy with a multi-party system. Finland is constantly ranked high in several indexes gauging the different aspects of well-being. For example, corruption of the state and public sector is typically considered to be very low in Finland.
Sanna Marin has received attention abroad, mostly positive (check for instance the summarizing article on BBC) but also somewhat critical. Marin is the youngest prime minister to assume the post in Finland, and she also leads the government of five female party leaders, four of which are under the age of 40.
- Who Is Marin?
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But who exactly is Sanna Marin and where did she come from? Sanna Marin was born in Helsinki in 1985, and she spent her childhood in economically modest setting. She was brought up by her mother and the mother’s female partner. She graduated from the University of Tampere in the field of administrative sciences in 2017. Before, she has represented in the City Council of Tampere as a chairperson, held the position of a second deputy chairperson of the SDP, as well as been appointed the Minister of Transport and Communications. Currently, she is the vice leader of her party, The Social Democratic Party of Finland. Marin’s political views are quite left-wing and her values are liberal. In interviews, she conveys an image of a down-to-earth, work-oriented person. As a side note, she is also a vegetarian!
As the political atmosphere is getting more and more troubled in Finland due to accelerating confrontations, here’s hoping that Marin can lead her government towards success.
Some Sources:
https://www.satakunnankansa.fi/a/c1dd11b8-1e78-4a91-8de9-dcc370491b33 (in Finnish)
https://www.tamperelainen.fi/artikkeli/215689-uusi-valtuuston-puheenjohtaja-jakoi-nuorena-tamperelaista (in Finnish)