Sanna Marin, the prime minister of Finland, and her husband, Markus Räikkönen, have decided to end their 19-year marriage. Marin made the announcement on Instagram on Wednesday.
“We have jointly filed for divorce. We are appreciative of our beautiful daughter and our 19 years of marriage, Marin said in an Instagram story.
“We are still inseparable, respectful of one another, and devoted parents. We will continue to spend time with each other and as a family, she continued.
Marin and Räikkönen, a businessman and former professional footballer, were married in 2020, according to Finland’s public broadcaster, YLE.
The announcement comes after Marin lost Finland’s parliamentary election in April, with opposition right-wing National Coalition Party (NCP) claiming victory in a tightly fought contest.
She is currently serving as caretaker prime minister until a new coalition government can be formed.
Though considered a millennial role model for progressive new leaders by fans around the globe, at home she has faced criticism for her partying and her government’s high public expenditure.
While she remains very popular among many Finns, particularly young moderates, she antagonized some conservatives with high levels of spending on pensions and education.
Marin’s rise to the top of Finnish politics was meteoric.
The first member of her family to attend university, she entered politics at 20 and quickly moved up the ranks of the center-left Social Democratic Party.
She then became the world’s youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019 at the age 34.