Despite her young age, Marin has been widely praised for demonstrating strong leadership in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. She passed legislation allowing Finland to close its borders at just days’ notice. She introduced a range of measures designed to control the spread of the virus, including contact tracing and widespread mask-wearing.
Marin is also credited with pushing through an ambitious climate action plan that targets emissions reductions across all sectors and increasing investment in renewable energy sources such as wind power. Her government also reformed labour laws to give workers more protections, particularly those on zero-hour contracts or working part-time jobs. Her focus on gender equality isn’t limited to words either; under her tenure, she proposed a law that would ensure equal pay among genders by 2021 and has actively worked towards closing the gender wage gap within Finland.
She has been hailed for her bold leadership style, which is based on her belief that citizens should have a say in policy decisions, and she was instrumental in bringing Finland into NATO earlier this year. Her coalition also contains four parties led by women under 35, something unheard-of even in Scandinavia, where female representation remains below average.
As a result of Marin’s leadership style, she successfully influenced MPs from opposition parties, such as the Centre Party and the Finns Party, to support her Covid-19 response measures earlier this year – a demonstration of her ability to collaborate between different political parties when times are challenging.
Sanna Marin, Finland’s Prime Minister, has become renowned worldwide for her clear and effective leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. She was first elected to parliament in 2015 and appointed Prime Minister in 2019. Her Social Democrats are neck-and-neck with two right-wing parties in pre-election polls.
She was popular during the pandemic for her leadership but has been embroiled in scandals related to her private life. Some people feel that her behaviour is inappropriate for someone in her position, while others defend her right to a private life.
Sanna Marin, Finland’s Prime Minister, grew up in a low-income family and was the first in her family to go to university. She is married with one child. As Prime Minister, she is considered a progressive idealist abroad and an embodiment of Finnish values, but her policies at home are more pragmatic. She has recently been criticized for lack of action on indigenous Sami people’s rights.