Former Finnish PM Marin steps down as head of Social Democrats

Former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin stepped down as head of her Social Democratic party on Friday.

The previous parliamentary group leader, Antti Lindtman, will be her successor, the Social Democrats revealed at their party conference in the university town of Jyväskylä.

Marin came to power at the end of 2019 as the youngest prime minister in the world at the time. She enjoyed great popularity both internationally and in her own country.

Despite making some gains, she and her Social Democrats lost the Finnish parliamentary elections in April. Finland currently has a four-party right-wing government headed by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

In his inaugural speech as head of Social Democrats, Lindtman expressed his "greatest thanks" to Marin.

"You were responsible for a time that will go down in Finnish history," Lindtman added.

After the start of the Russian war against Ukraine, Finland, led by Marin, applied for NATO membership.

Two days after the parliamentary elections and Marin's defeat, the country was accepted as the 31st member of the western defence alliance.