Sanna Marin

Marin and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson during talks about potential NATO memberships for Finland and Sweden in the spring of 2022.

In March 2021, Marin condemned the persecution of ethnic Uyghurs in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.[37] She emphasized that "trade or the economy is not a reason to ignore these atrocities".[38]

In a new year address at the start of 2022, Marin stated that Finland had the right to join NATO if it wanted to, and should consider this option. This action caused a negative reaction from the Russian media, with some outlets reporting that "Moscow was stabbed in the back".[39][40] In February, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Marin commented on Finland's potential membership, observing: "It is also now clear that the debate on NATO membership in Finland will change", while noting that a Finnish application to NATO would require widespread political and public support.[41]

On 24 February 2022, the Russian president Putin ordered the Russian Armed Forces to begin an invasion of Ukraine. On 25 February, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson threatened Finland and Sweden with "military and political consequences" if they attempted to join NATO, which neither were then actively seeking. Both countries had attended an emergency NATO summit as members of NATO's Partnership for Peace and both had condemned the invasion and had provided assistance to Ukraine.[42]

In March 2022, she said the EU needed to end its dependency on Russian oil, adding that "we have these very tough economic sanctions on the one hand, and on the other hand we are financing the Russian war by buying oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels from Russia."[43]

On 4 March 2022, the President of Finland Sauli Niinistö visited Washington, D.C. to meet with President Joe Biden and a number of other U.S. politicians and security personnel. In a press conference with Finnish media, Niinistö said that in the meeting the presidents discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on European and Finnish security. Furthermore they agreed on deepening Finnish-US security co-operation and bilateral relations.[44] On 12 May 2022, ten weeks after the beginning of the invasion, President Niinistö and Prime Minister Marin in a joint statement said that "Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay" as such membership "would strengthen Finland's security".[45]

Marin and President Sauli Niinistö at the press conference announcing Finland's intent to apply to NATO on 15 May 2022.

Marin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 26 May 2022.

Marin speaks to the European Parliament in 2022

On 15 May, Niinistö and Marin announced that Finland would apply for NATO membership, and on 17 May the Finnish parliament approved the proposal 188-8.[46] Marin said she was surprised by Turkey's opposition to Finland's NATO membership.[47] She said her country did not want permanent NATO bases or nuclear weapons on its territory.[48] On 26 May 2022, Marin went to Kyiv at the invitation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal,[49] where she met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visited the war-torn cities of Irpin and Bucha. On 26 May 2022, Marin also signed a bilateral framework agreement on the rebuilding of Ukraine's education with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.[50] On 31 May, she welcomed a deal agreed by all EU leaders to ban more than 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, voting for it in the European Council.[51]

In October 2020, an interview of Marin in the Finnish lifestyle magazine Trendi about her job and its expectations was illustrated by a photograph in which she wore a blazer with nothing underneath it and trousers. It generated much public controversy, with critics accusing her of tastelessness and demeaning her office, and others defending her and accusing the critics of sexism.[52]

On 25 May 2021, Finnish media reported that Marin and her family were spending about €300 per month on groceries with public funds as a part of the Prime Minister's tax-free housing benefits in the official residence, Kesäranta. The legality of the customary arrangement that had been in place for decades was questioned since the rules on the residential benefits did not explicitly mention food provisions.[53][54] Later, the amount spent was found to be €850 per month, not the €300 first thought.[55] Marin and her family had used around €14,363.20 on catering services in the form of breakfast provisions and cold evening meals in the Prime Minister's official residence between January 2020 and May 2021, equivalent to €845 per month.[56] She claimed that she did not know the limit. It turned out that civil servants in the Prime Minister's office (VNK) handled the payments and Marin was not informed of the running costs of the residential perk. Marin's family have resided in the Kesäranta residence unusually much for a Prime Minister due to the restrictions and practicalities during the pandemic.[57] With the controversy over spending on groceries, Marin had to dispel speculation that public money had also been spent on her wedding, saying that she and her husband "paid for all our wedding expenses ourselves".[56]

In early December 2021, Marin visited a night club in Helsinki with some friends; earlier that day she had been in contact with Finland's foreign minister, who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, thus exposing the Prime Minister to the infection. Marin was informed of this and advised by an Undersecretary of State that she did not need to self-isolate, as she was fully vaccinated. Later that night two text messages were sent to Marin's governmental work phone alerting her that she should self-isolate after all. However, Marin didn't receive the messages because she was only carrying her parliamentary work phone; the governmental work phone has different security restrictions for its usage. Apparently there was a failure to check whether she had received the update, and therefore no messages to her parliamentary phone. The phone camera video of Marin in the night club published by the magazine that broke the story, 7 Päivää, shows Marin on the dance floor checking her smartwatch for messages.[58][59]

According to Marin, she had been told that going out in public was permitted due to her having been fully vaccinated. The next day she received information that this was not the case, so she explained missing the updated advice and apologised for her poor judgement on Facebook.[60] Two complaints about Marin's behaviour were filed to the Chancellor of Justice, who subsequently exonerated her.[61] Prominent members of the Centre Party, a partner in Marin's five-party coalition government, alleged that Marin had lied to them by altering her explanations of the events; however, they did not provide evidence of where this occurred.[62]

In August 2022, leaked videos of Marin partying and dancing in a private apartment in Helsinki became public,[63] and went viral.[64] In response to what Marin called "serious allegations in the public domain" regarding drug use,[65] she voluntarily took a drug test on 19 August "for [her] own legal protection [and] to clear up any doubts"[66] and tested negative.[67]