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Monday, August 3, 2020

Finland Prime Minister marries .. .. .........


No beauty pageant ! ~ but people who govern a Nation !!


The United States and the Soviet Union formed an uneasy pact to help turn back Nazi Germany during World War II. Less than a decade later, most global events were seen as part of the Cold War between the two super powers, including the Olympics. The Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland set a record for countries (69) and participants (nearly 5,000), numbers boosted by the USSR's first appearance in the games as a communist nation. The Soviets felt winning medals — and blocking the Americans in the process — could boost their profile on the world stage while espousing the superiority of their way of life.

The 1952 Summer Olympics were  held in Helsinki, Finland, from July 19 to August 3, 1952.  Helsinki had been earlier selected to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II. It is the northernmost city at which a summer Olympic Games have been held.  It was also the Olympic Games at which the most number of world records were broken until it was surpassed by the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

No Sports post but .. a post on the marriage of Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin marrying  longtime partner Markus Raikkonen in a small ceremony befitting pandemic times. The couple wed on Saturday with family and their closest friends present, the Finnish government said in a statement on Sunday. Just 40 guests attended the wedding, which took place at their official residence in Helsinki, a picturesque seaside villa. Marin, 34, first announced her nuptials in an Instagram post.   “We’ve lived together in our youth, grown up together and become parents to our dear daughter. Thank you for being by my side,” the prime minister wrote to her new husband.

Marin and Raikkonen have been together for 16 years and they have a two-year-old daughter. The wedding follows the July 15 marriage of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who had to repeatedly reschedule the ceremony -- first due to elections, then the coronavirus pandemic and finally because of a European Union summit.

Finland  is a country located in the Nordic region of Europe. Bounded by the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia; Gulf of Finland, it shares land borders with Sweden, Russia and Norway. Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and Tampere are largest cities and urban areas in the whole country.

Finland was first inhabited around the end of the most recent ice age, approximately around 9000 BC. The Comb Ceramic culture introduced pottery in 5200 BC and the Corded Ware culture coincided with the start of agriculture between 3000 and 2500 BC.  From the late 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden as a consequence of the Northern Crusades and the Swedish colonisation of coastal Finland, an event, the legacy of which is reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In 1809, Finland was annexed by the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant all adult citizens the right to vote, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office.  Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent from the empire. In 1918, the fledgling state was divided by the Finnish Civil War, with the Bolshevik-leaning Red Guards, supported by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, fighting against the White Guard, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the country became a republic. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and lost part of its territory, but maintained independence.

The news is Finnish Prime minister Sanna Marin has married her long-term partner Markus Raikkonen. The couple, both 34, who share two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Emma Amalia Marin, have been together for 16 years after meeting when they were 18. Their wedding yesterday was at Kesäranta, Ms Marin's official residence, and attended by 40 guests made up of close friends and family. Ms Marin shared a sweet photo with her new husband on Instagram. 
  
Ms Marin,  wore her long brunette locks in a half-up, half-down style, with a floating veil pinned to the back of her hair. Her bouquet consisted of cream peonies and foliage, while her groom - a former Finnish association football player - looked smart in a classic tuxedo.  Their permanent home is in the Kaleva district of Tampere, but during the 2020 pandemic they've resided at the Prime Minister's official residence. Ms Marin, a social democrat who has been a prolific user of social media and a keen advocate of environmental issues, became Finland's prime minister in December. At the time she was the world's youngest serving head of government - a title she lost a few weeks later with the return to power of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who turns 34 later this month.

Earlier this year Ms Marin, an MP since 2015, announced plans to give fathers the same amount of paid parental leave as mothers to promote equality and boost birth rates. Paternity leave for new fathers is set to be extended to nearly seven months, the same as maternity leave.  

She also admitted that she never expected to get into politics, telling the publication: 'When I was in high school, I felt that the people who make politics are quite different and come from different backgrounds than I am. At that time, I didn't think it was possible to get involved myself.' Ms Marin, who spent her teenage years working in a bakery, added that her mother has always been very supportive and made her believe she could do anything she wanted. 

Interesting !  ~ the photo at the start - Prime minister Sanna Marin (second right), 34, poses with the Minister of Education Li Andersson (left), 32, Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni (second left), 32, and Minister of Interior Maria Ohisalo (right), 34, after Finland's new government was formed in December 19

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
3.8.2020

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