Finland to inaugurate world’s youngest sitting prime minister

Finland’s transportation minister, Sanna Marin, will become the world’s youngest sitting prime minister when she’s sworn in this week. 

Marin, 34, was chosen by her Social Democratic Party after its leader, Antii Rinne, quit as prime minister, the BBC reported. 

Finland’s coalition government is made up of five parties, all led by women. Four of them are under the age of 35. 

Parliament is expected to confirm Marin as prime minister as soon as Tuesday, depending on how quickly other coalition parties name their ministers, according to The New York Times. 

She will become Finland’s youngest and third female prime minister. 

Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb called Marin and the other women leading the nation’s government “pioneers.” 

“My party is not in government, but I rejoice that the leaders of the five parties in government are female. Shows that #Finland is a modern and progressive country,” Stubb tweeted Monday. “The majority of my government was also female. One day gender will not matter in government. Meanwhile pioneers.”

My party is not in government, but I rejoice that the leaders of the five parties in government are female. Shows that #Finland is a modern and progressive country. The majority of my government was also female. One day gender will not matter in government. Meanwhile pioneers. pic.twitter.com/dW8OMEOiqb

— Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) December 9, 2019

Marin, however, has said she gives little thought to her age. 

“I will respond in the same way as before. I have not actually ever thought about my age or my gender, I think of the reasons I got into politics and those things for which we have won the trust of the electorate,” Marin said on Sunday after the vote was announced, according to national news outlet YLE. 

Currently, the youngest sitting prime minister is Ukraine’s Oleksiy Honcharuk, who is 35 years old.