Sanna Marin is to become the world’s youngest prime minister at the age of 34 – and will head a women-led coalition government in Finland.
The transportation minister was picked by her Social Democratic party to take charge after PM Antti Rinne quit. She is expected to be sworn in this week.
She will lead a centre-left coalition of five parties, all headed by women.
Mr Rinne stepped down after losing the confidence of a coalition member over his handling of a postal strike.
When she takes office, Ms Marin will be the world’s youngest sitting prime minister. New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern is 39, while Ukrainian premier Oleksiy Honcharuk is 35.
Ms Marin will be the third female prime minister in the Nordic country. The Social Democrats emerged as the largest party in elections held in April, and so can appoint the prime minister who leads the coalition government.
Mr Rinne stepped down after a plan to cut wages for hundreds of postal workers led to widespread strikes. Coalition member, the Centre Party, said it had lost confidence in him.
Meanwhile, the party said Katri Kulmuni would be named as finance minister. The 32-year-old took over as its leader in September.
Four of the five female party leaders in the coalition are under 35.
Finland currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, and MPs are likely to approve the new government ahead of the EU summit in Brussels on 12 December.
