Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is ready for change, and on September 7, 2023, she announced that she's done with politics. She was one of Europe's youngest politicians, taking office in 2019 at age 34. In April, her party, the Social Democrats, lost to the country's main conservative party.
What's next for Marin? She plans to join the Tony Blair Institute, a London-based nonprofit, as a "strategic counselor." “Time to move on," she told Finnish broadcaster Yle. "I am eager to step into a new role. I also believe that it can benefit the whole of Finland. I believe that I can serve those voters [in Finland] well and maybe even better in the new assignment."
Her career change isn't the only recent change in her life. In May, Marin and Markus Raikkonen jointly filed for divorce after three years of marriage. At the time of their marriage, Marin wrote, "We have lived our youth together, entered adulthood together and grown into parents for our dear daughter together." On her Instagram story, when announcing their divorce, she said they would "remain best friends."
Though her new job is outside of Finnish politics, it is still policy-related.
"The task will be to be an advisor 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," she said, as reported by Finnish newspaper Huvudstadsbladet.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke highly of Marin and her decision to join his nonprofit.
"Our mission is to help political leaders worldwide deliver change for their people — and Sanna Marin knows exactly how to do that," Blair said.
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Marin has served as a role model for many aspiring leaders. She also has gotten quite a bit of attention due to her social media activity. In 2022, she publicly apologized after photos of a party at her summer residence and a video of her dancing and partying went viral. She also noted that politicians have private lives, too. "I am human. And I too sometimes long for joy, light and fun amidst these dark clouds," she said in response to the controversy.
Following her divorce, her election upset, and her career change, people have also noticed that Marin appears to be having fun, attending music festivals and summer events, wearing a variety of cute outfits, and you know, being human.
