Finland is a thriving nation. According to the most recent study by Yale’s Center for Environmental Law & Policy, it is ranked first in environmental health. It is also ranked first in world happiness. And now, we have women leading the nation.
Finland's Sanna Marin, the 34-year-old-transport minister who will become the world's youngest head of the state, will head a coalition with four parties, all led by women. Three of them are in their early thirties.
Marin was chosen by the ruling Social Democratic Party to be the nation's new prime minister.
Marin was raised by a single mother, who she has said was discriminated against in Finland for being in a relationship with another woman.
The coalition's other party leaders are 32-year-old Katri Kulmuni of the Center Party; the Left Alliance's Li Andersson, 32; Maria Ohisalo, the 34-year-old leader of the Greens; and the head of the Swedish People's Party, Anna-Maja Henriksson, who at 55 is the oldest.
The Center Party announced Monday that Kulmuni will be the finance minister in the new government. The coalition will have a comfortable majority of 117 seats in the 200-seat Eduskunta or Parliament.
According to Elina Penttinen, a lecturer in gender studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland regularly ranks as one of the best countries in the world for gender equality. She added that the rise of so many women is exceptional by the standards of the wider world, where older men hold the most power.
Speaking about Marin, Penttinen said, Marin, is a talented politician known for her leadership skills whose progressive programme stresses combating climate change, protecting the country's famous social protections like health care and reaching out to young people.
Alexander Stubb, who served as Finland’s prime minister from 2014 to 2015 tweeted, having five women leading the government “shows that #Finland is a modern and progressive country.”
Like many western nations, Finland too saw a rise of right-wing populists and the nationalist Finns Finns Party did well in April election, though centrist and left-wing parties won most votes and together could govern in the multi-party coalition.
Marin is a new mother, having given birth to a daughter last year.
Marin has been active in politics since 2015, is the party's vice chairwoman and was minister for transport and communications in the outgoing government. Marin will be Finland's third female government leader.
