In Finland, the homosexuality of the presidential candidate is still a problem for many voters.
A third of Finns do not want to vote Pekka Haavisto because of his spouse, it was revealed in a survey by the University of Helsinki.
Also Helsingin Sanomat in the poll the results are similar. by Alexander Stubb 40 percent of the voters said that Haavisto’s sexual orientation is the reason for voting for the opposing candidate.
However, Europe has had openly homosexual heads of state for a long time.
In this article, you can familiarize yourself with several examples.
Latvia: There was not much discussion about the president’s homosexuality
Homophobic attitudes are common in Latvia. That is why the researcher himself was surprised that the president’s sexual orientation was not discussed in public.
Center right Edgars Rinkevičs became president of Latvia in the summer of 2023, making him the EU’s first openly gay head of state. Rinkēvičs said on Twitter, or the current X, that he was gay already in 2014, when he served as Latvia’s foreign minister.
Rinkēvičs’ announcement was bold. More than 40 percent of Latvian gay men have never disclosed their sexual orientation. This is revealed by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency from the survey conducted in 2020. In Finland, the corresponding figure was 13 percent.
The election of Rinkēvičs as president, however, did not arouse much discussion in the country, according to a Latvian researcher.
– It surprised me, because Latvia is a rather homophobic country, associate professor of sociology at the University of Latvia Baiba Bela says to .
Rinkēvičs was already popular as foreign minister, and as president the people’s appreciation has continued.
The researcher estimates that it has been influenced by Rinkēvičs’ professionalism and strong charisma. The president of Latvia is known internationally as a solid supporter of Ukraine and a sharp critic of Russia.
In Latvia, gays are not allowed to marry, and the registration of a partnership became legal only the following year.
During his political career, Rinkēvičs has not appeared in public with a partner. Latvian for the afternoon papers Rinkēvičs has said that he has not dated seriously.
Serbia: Lesbian prime minister angered pro-Russians
For more than seven years, the government of conservative Serbia has been led by a prime minister who is openly lesbian.
Ana from Brnabić became the country’s first prime minister belonging to a sexual and gender minority in 2017.
Serbia’s pro-Russian opposition groups did not like Brnabić’s choice. They claimed him as the candidate favored by the West. The language used was similar to that of the Russian president With Vladimir Putinwho has spoken about the “homosation” of Europe.
However, Brnabić, who is considered to be pro-European and who made efforts outside of party politics, has not reformed Serbia very significantly, he estimates German media Deutsche Welle. The country’s sexual and gender minorities have been disappointed that Brnabić has not promoted their status more actively.
In Serbia, people belonging to the sexual minority experience discrimination even more than in Latvia. Even in 2020, in an EU survey, more than half of Serbian lesbian women said that they avoid walking hand in hand with their female friends in all situations.
Iceland: The Prime Minister married his girlfriend
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is considered the world’s first openly homosexual head of government.
Social democrat Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir served as Prime Minister of Iceland in 2009–2013.
Sigurðardóttir entered into a registered partnership by Jónína Leósdóttir with in 2002. They got married as soon as Iceland allowed same-sex marriage in 2010.
Sigurðardóttir is widely regarded as the world’s first openly sexual minority head of government. Although already in 2002, the glass ceiling in Norway was shattered when a public gay who represented the right-wing party Høyre Per-Kristian Foss briefly served as the country’s prime minister.
France: Young and popular Parisian
Gabriel Attal, 34, became France’s youngest ever prime minister in January.
History was made in France in January when the president Emmanuel Macron appointed Gabriel Attali as prime minister.
Attal is France’s first openly homosexual and the country’s youngest ever prime minister. The Parisian politician was one of the most popular ministers in Macron’s government before his appointment.
Attal told already in 2019 about the change in the attitudinal climate at the top of French politics. He felt good in the board and assured that he laughed with his colleagues. However, Attal has said that he also receives a lot of hate mail from citizens.
In January, Macron also appointed Attali’s former partner by Stéphane Séjourné French foreign minister.
Ireland: The international media was shocked, Ireland was not
A half-Indian and openly homosexual prime minister was big news internationally. Domestically, however, the economy was discussed.
Leo Varadkar has been the Prime Minister of Ireland from 2017 to 2020 and again from December 2022.
Half-Indian Varadkar’s homosexuality and ethnic background were prominently noted in the international media when he became prime minister. Deeply Catholic, Ireland has been one of the most conservative countries in Europe.
In Ireland, however, Varadkar’s homosexuality received little attention, says the British broadcasting company BBC. The presidential election of the Prime Minister’s Party was primarily dominated by questions about the party’s economic line.
Internationally, Varadkar has been compared to French President Macron and the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Thrudeau dynamic center-right leaders like
Life elsewhere for a long time
The prime ministers and presidents presented above are by no means the only European political pioneers belonging to sexual minorities.
In 2022 openly homosexual Paolo Rondelli became the head of state of the conservative dwarf state of San Marino.
Luxembourg was led for ten years by an openly homosexual prime minister Xavier Bettel in the years 2013–2023.
Bettel did not hide his identity even in international arenas. He took a strong stance on human rights at the Arab League-EU meeting in 2019. Bettel pointed out that he would receive the death penalty in several Arab countries.
Previous openly homosexual political leaders have included, among others, the former prime minister of Belgium Elio Di Rupo (2011–2014), and former German Foreign Minister (2009–2013) and Angela Merkel Vice-Chancellor (2009–2011) Guido Westerwelle.
Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium From Petra De Sutter in turn, in 2020 became Europe’s first transwoman elected as a minister.
It is known that the first openly homosexual member of parliament was elected to the Dutch parliament in 1976 Coos Huijsen.
Dated a man Hi Vos became a minister in Holland already in 1945. It has been said that Vosi’s homosexuality was common knowledge, but he did not speak about it publicly as a minister.