Favorite tipped Alexander Stubb is the new president of Finland after the election was decided on Sunday evening. The former prime minister received 51.6 percent of the vote and defeated Pekka Haavisto.
– Democracy won today, he said at his victory party in Helsinki.
What will be the biggest challenges for Stubb? He is pushing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
– Everything starts, of course, with Russia and the border. We have to work on our own defense and then we have to integrate our defense into NATO. It is external security that we will work on, but I also want to be a unifying factor in domestic matters, he says to TV4 Nyheterna.
Emotional tribute to the family
After the victory, he gave an emotional speech at the vigil. Together with his wife Suzanne Innes-Stubb on stage, he turned to his children Emilie and Oliver and paid tribute to them.
– You are the dearest thing we have, it is the most important thing we have in life with mother. We never wanted you to live your lives through us. We are incredibly proud of what you do and what you have done. Whatever life brings, we will always support you, we love you, he says.
The speech drew applause and Alexander Stubb also took the opportunity to address his wife directly and talk about what she has meant to him.
– There is one person in the room without whom my life would have no meaning and that is Suzanne. I realize this is a very big sacrifice on your part. Your support and love over the years, in both bad and good times, has been incredible, he says.
Facts: Alexander Stubb
55-year-old Alexander Stubb received his doctorate in EU affairs at the London School of Economics in 1999.
He represents the bourgeois Samlingspartiet, which is the sister party of the Swedish Moderates in Finland.
Between 2004–2008, Stubb was a Member of the European Parliament and from 2011–2017 he was a Member of Parliament at home in Finland.
In 2008–2011, Stubb was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Europe and Foreign Trade 2011–2014, Prime Minister 2014–2015, and Minister of Finance 2015–2016.
Since 2020, he is a professor at the European University Institute in Italy.
Stubb is married and has two children. He has written several books and is a diligent sportsman, who, among other things, engages in triathlon, golf and skiing. He speaks five languages – both Finnish and Swedish – but prefers to describe himself as bilingual than as a Finnish Swede.