A Nordic NATO Secretary-General with the President of Finland Alexander Stubb, (13th president of Finland since 1 March 2024)

  

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Former Finland PM Alexander Stubb wins presidential election 

Stubb, who becomes commander-in-chief and will lead his country’s foreign policy, has vowed a hard line against Russia. 

Stubb has said he intends to be a unifying force in Finnish society | Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images

FEBRUARY 11, 2024 10:16 PM CET

BY CHARLIE DUXBURY

Finland’s former prime minister, Alexander Stubb, completed a surprise political comeback on Sunday by winning a closely fought runoff to become the Nordic state’s president after seven years in the political wilderness. 

The result will have been closely watched in European capitals and beyond given Finland’s strategically important location along the EU and NATO’s eastern border with an increasingly aggressive Russia. The country’s president leads its foreign policy alongside the government, and serves as Finland’s commander-in-chief. 

Stubb, a member of the mainstream center-right National Coalition Party (NCP), beat former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto of the center-left Green Party in the runoff, 51.6 percent to 48.4 percent.  

Stubb said before the election that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine had convinced him to return to Finnish politics and to contribute to Europe’s efforts to face down the Kremlin. 

But speaking to reporters after the vote he adopted a gentler tone, noting that while much had been said during the campaign about “war, defense and NATO,” his message was “one of peace.”

“We must remember that one of the president’s main tasks is to ensure Finland promotes peace, and I will do that as president,” Stubb said.