Alexander Stubb

Alexander Stubb
Stubb in 2024
13th President of Finland
Assumed office
1 March 2024
Prime MinisterPetteri Orpo
Preceded bySauli Niinistö
Prime Minister of Finland
In office
24 June 2014 – 29 May 2015
PresidentSauli Niinistö
DeputyAntti Rinne
Preceded byJyrki Katainen
Succeeded byJuha Sipilä
Minister of Finance
In office
29 May 2015 – 22 June 2016
Prime MinisterJuha Sipilä
Preceded byAntti Rinne
Succeeded byPetteri Orpo
Leader of the National Coalition Party
In office
14 June 2014 – 11 June 2016
Preceded byJyrki Katainen
Succeeded byPetteri Orpo
Minister for European Affairs and Trade
In office
22 June 2011 – 24 June 2014
Prime MinisterJyrki Katainen
Preceded byAstrid Thors
Succeeded byLenita Toivakka
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
4 April 2008 – 22 June 2011
Prime MinisterMatti Vanhanen
Mari Kiviniemi
Preceded byIlkka Kanerva
Succeeded byErkki Tuomioja
Member of the Finnish Parliament
for Uusimaa
In office
20 April 2011 – 30 July 2017
Member of the European Parliament
for Finland
In office
20 July 2004 – 3 April 2008
Personal details
Born
Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb

(1968-04-01) 1 April 1968 (age 56)
Helsinki, Finland
Political partyNational Coalition Party
Spouse
(m. 1998)
Children2
RelativesGöran Stubb (father)
Kai Setälä (maternal grandfather)
EducationFurman University (BA)
Sorbonne University (GrDip)
College of Europe (MA)
London School of Economics (PhD)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website
Military service
AllegianceFinland
Branch/serviceFinnish Army
RankLance Corporal

Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb (Finland Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkɑi ˈjœːrɑn ɑlekˈsɑndær ˈstʉbː], born 1 April 1968) is a Finnish politician serving as the 13th president of Finland, in office since 1 March 2024, having won the 2024 presidential election. He previously served as prime minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015.

Rising in politics as a researcher specialised in the affairs of the European Union, he was elected to the European Parliament in 2004 as a member of the National Coalition Party. In 2008, Stubb was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2011, he was elected to the Finnish Parliament for the first time as an MP with the second-highest vote count in the election. He was then appointed Minister for European Affairs and Trade in the Cabinet of Jyrki Katainen.

When Katainen stepped down as Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Coalition Party in 2014, Stubb was elected as party chairman. He went on to form a five-party government coalition, and was officially appointed Prime Minister by President Sauli Niinistö on 24 June 2014. At the parliamentary election held in April 2015, Stubb's National Coalition Party lost its status as the largest party, coming in second in vote share and third in seats. After coalition negotiations between the winning Centre Party, Finns Party and National Coalition Party, Stubb was appointed Minister of Finance on 29 May 2015 by newly elected Prime Minister Juha Sipilä.

In 2016, Stubb's leadership was challenged from within the party by MP Elina Lepomäki and Interior Minister Petteri Orpo. On 11 June, Stubb lost the leadership to Orpo at the party conference. Resigning as Finance Minister, and declining further ministerial positions, Stubb resigned as a Member of Parliament in 2017 to accept appointment as vice-president of the European Investment Bank. After his term at the European Investment Bank ended in January 2020, he was chosen as the director and professor of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute.

In August 2023, Stubb announced his decision to run in the 2024 Finnish presidential election. He finished first in the first round of voting on 28 January and won the run-off on 11 February, winning 51.6% of the votes against Pekka Haavisto. Stubb is the second Finland-Swedish president in the history of Finland after C. G. E. Mannerheim, and the first to be elected.[1]

  1. ^ Junkkari, Marko (2 December 2023). "Mikä on seuraavan presidentin äidinkieli?". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2024.