AT just 34 years old, Sanna Marin is about to make history as she becomes the world’s youngest serving prime minister.

The Finnish Social Democrat won her party’s backing over the weekend, and is set to be confirmed today. Marin will need to govern a five-party coalition that just ousted her predecessor, Antti Rinne, after he stumbled on a number of key issues. In the end, he was toppled in a dispute centering on pay at the state postal company.

Marin will lead a government at a younger age even than New Zealand’s Premier Jacinda Ardern, who was 37 at the time of her appointment. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was under 30 years old when he became the country’s leader in 2011. In Austria, former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was 31 when he assumed office in 2017. Going further back in history, William Pitt the Younger stood out, becoming Britain’s prime minister at just 24 in 1783.

Finland’s new leader — the third woman to hold the position — will take over after the ruling coalition Sunday agreed to keep working together to advance its existing policy program. But she faces a tough start after Rinne’s ouster just six months into his first term left rifts across the government.

Marin had a chance to demonstrate her leadership skills earlier this year, when she stood in for Rinne while he was recovering from a serious illness.

The peculiarities of Finland’s parliamentary system led to about 60 Social Democrats being in a position to pick the country’s next premier. Snap elections are a distant possibility and not automatically triggered by the government’s resignation. What’s more, parties have considerable leeway in selecting their own ministers.

The Center Party yesterday announced a partial reshuffle, with its leader Katri Kulmuni becoming finance minister in a swap with Mika Lintila, who takes on the economy minister’s role.

Marin says her first task will be to rebuild confidence across party lines within her coalition.

“There’s a lot of work to be done to rebuild trust,” she told reporters after the party vote. “We are still committed to a common policy program, and that’s the glue that unifies us as the government.”

(SD-Agencies)