Former Finnish PM Sanna Marin quits politics after losing April election

Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is stepping away from politics after losing her leadership position in April.

Marin, who brought together a five-party, left-wing coalition in 2019, was one of the youngest leaders in Europe when she spearheaded government policy during the COVID-19 pandemic and at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Time to move on,” Marin said, according to Finnish public broadcaster YLE.  “I am eager to step into a new role. I also believe that it can benefit the whole of Finland.”

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Marin’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) finished in third place in the race with razor-thin margins after 20.8% of Finnish voters threw their weight behind the center-right National Coalition Party (NCP) and 20.1% of voters backed the right-wing populist party The Finns. Marin’s party secured 19.9% of voter support in the April election. 

Marin announced Thursday she has accepted a position with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a London-based nonprofit.

“I believe that I can serve those voters (in Finland) well and maybe even better in the new assignment,” Marin said at a press conference upon her departure.

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The organization announced earlier this month Marin would be stepping in as a “strategic counselor.”

“The task will be to be an adviser to different countries, governments and leaders on policy issues that are familiar to me, such as good governance, technology, climate, gender equality and other issues that I have had to work with,” Marin said, according to the Hufvudstadsbladet newspaper.

The former prime minister’s personal life frequently made worldwide headlines during her time in office following a series of videos of her partying, dancing at clubs and drinking alcohol.

“I danced, sang and partied — perfectly legal things. And I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve seen or known of others [using drugs],” she said following the videos’ release.

Marin announced in May she and her husband of 19 years are seeking a divorce just weeks after she lost her re-election bid following the emergence of the controversial partying videos.   

“We have filed for divorce together. We are grateful for 19 years together and our beloved daughter,” the 37-year-old prime minister wrote in an Instagram story, according to multiple outlets. “We will continue to spend time together as a family and with each other.”