Farewell Sanna Marin: Our favourite moments from the world’s 'coolest' leader

When the news broke that Finland’s millennial leader (now former, mind you) Sanna Marin had decided to step down as party leader of the Social Democrats, our hearts sank a little here at the Vogue Scandinavia office. Whether you agree with her politics or not, having a woman, and a working mother no less, at the very top of the political spire is always encouraging – not least for the generation coming up behind. And her departure forms one of a slew of female world leaders that have recently exited politics, not forgetting New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern and Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon, of course.

Sworn in at only 34 years old, Marin was the youngest female prime minister in the world when she took office. Certainly, there are not many 30-somethings that would have been able to contend with the pressures of political life in quite as composed a way as she has appeared to. And she has much to be proud of, too, as the longest serving woman prime minister of Finland, heading up a majority-female cabinet. From telling a sexist audience member what’s what, to shining a light on the realities of working motherhood, here are our favourite standout moments from her three year premiership:

Marin made history back in November 2020, when she became the first Finnish prime minister to travel down under. And though the majority of the tour went smoothly, there was one frustrating moment when Marin met with New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern. The pair were up on their respective podiums, answering questions at a press conference in Auckland, when one reporter piped up and asked whether the women were simply meeting because they shared “a lot of common stuff.” Whatever that means. “A lot of people will be wondering, are you two meeting just because you're similar in age,” asked the journalist of Ardern, “and, you know, got a lot of common stuff there.”

Refusing to let it faze her, Marin delivered the no-nonsense reply: “We are meeting because we are prime ministers.” She went on to later detail how the pair were meeting to unite over issues such as equality, rather ironically: “to make sure every woman and girl all across the world will have the same rights and the same opportunities as men'." That’s one cool and collected response.

In summer 2022, the former leader found herself in the midst of a controversial firestorm, when leaked footage of her enjoying herself and dancing the night away – god forbid – emerged on the internet. The video showed Marin partying away with friends, having a seemingly wonderful time. However, some individuals in the political world couldn’t quite stomach the idea that she could both work hard and play hard. An army of Twitter users came to her defence, galvanised under the hashtag #solidaritywithsanna, posting pictures and videos of themselves throwing caution to the wind and tearing up the dance floor in support of the leader. Even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Hilary Clinton joined in the fray.

Though faced with intense backlash, Marin refused to succumb to the pressure, instead giving an emotional and searingly honest response describing how yes, politicians are people too. And like the rest of us, they need a bit of down time. Surely there is nothing wrong with that? She said: “During these dark times, I too need some joy, light and fun.” Amen to that.

Related: “Sanna is a young, vibrant millennial who works hard – she should be allowed to blow off steam”

Though Sweden is still being left hanging around for their accession, Finland has luckily now cleared the very last hurdle: receiving Turkey’s approval into Nato. And that confirmation has largely been thanks to Marin, who has shepherded the country through the accession process following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Throughout the procedure, the former leader appeared to take it all in her stride (no sleepless nights here) saying reassuringly, there “shouldn’t be any problems” with the bid. This is the kind of confidence we should all aspire to.

In itself, being a busy mum is undeniably stressful, but throw in the added strain of governing a nation and then you’re really up against it. In spite of this, Marin went to great lengths to demonstrate that women can juggle both working in the political arena and raising a family – posting pictures of herself breastfeeding on Instagram and sharing pasta sauce recipes on Facebook. She showed her followers that she is someone who values a healthy home life, and a stirring professional one to boot, and for that we must admire her.