Party-loving Finnish PM Sanna Marin divorcing husband after 19 years together following election defeat
11 May 2023, 09:16 | Updated: 11 May 2023, 09:31
Finland's outgoing prime minister Sanna Marin has announced that she and husband Markus Raikkonen are divorcing after 19 years together.
Ms Marin, 37, who is stepping down as PM following her centre-left party's general election defeat last month, announced the news in a story posted to her Instagram account on Wednesday.
"Together we've filed for divorce. We're grateful for the 19 years together and for our beloved daughter," she wrote.
"We're still best friends, close to each other and loving parents. Going forward we will still spend time together as a family and with each other. We wish you will respect our privacy. We won't comment further on this."
She added: "We have lived our youth together, entered adulthood together and grown into parents for our dear daughter together."
The pair, who have a five-year-old daughter, have been together since they were 18 years old.
They married in a small ceremony in August 2020 while Ms Marin was leading the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She became Finland's youngest ever PM when she was elected in 2019 and was praised for her government's handling of the pandemic, and the prominent role she had - along with President Sauli Niinisto - in pushing for the country's successful bid to join NATO.
But she has also faced criticism after a video circulated on social media of her partying with friends last summer.
The clip prompted dozens of complaints alleging that the politicians's behaviour had undermined Finland's "reputation and security".
Ms Marin took a drugs test to prove she had not taken any illegal substances, and was later cleared of misconduct by parliament.
The episode prompted pushback from women across the Nordic country, with many taking to social media to share videos of themselves dancing in solidarity with Ms Marin.
