Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin’s new memoir, Hope in Action: A Memoir About the Courage to Lead, was released on November 4 in 17 countries and looks back on her three and a half years leading the country. On December 10, 2019, she became the world’s youngest prime minister at just 34, appointed after Social Democratic leader Antti Rinne resigned. During her time in Helsinki, Marin headed a coalition of five parties, all led by women and four of whom were under age 40. A photograph of the coalition leaders went viral around the world.
Shortly after being appointed, Marin was tasked with responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the fallout after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Working alongside President Sauli Niinistö, Marin, who had previously supported Finland’s military non-alignment, led her country to join NATO in April 2023.
A favorite target for misogynists
For three and a half years, every move Marin made was observed, analyzed, and discussed. The criticism often bordered on misogyny: She was ridiculed for wearing a low-cut shirt in the women’s magazine Trendi in October 2020, and vilified for a night out at a club in December 2021, despite knowingly having been in contact with someone with an active case of Covid-19. But the fiercest controversy took place in August 2022 after a video was released showing Marin partying with friends. She was forced to undergo a drug test – which came back negative. «The real political crime here, we realized, was that I didn’t look or behave like a prime minister is expected to look or behave,» Marin told the New Yorker.
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