Finland's prime minister announces divorce as she prepares to leave office

May 11 (UPI) -- Finnish Prime Minster Sanna Marin is divorcing her husband, businessman and former soccer player Markus Raikkonen, as she prepares to leave office.

Marin and Raikkonen have been together since they were 18 and married in 2020. The couple has a 5-year-old daughter.

Marin announced the divorce in an Instagram post Wednesday.

"Together we've filed for divorce. We're grateful for the 19 years together and for our beloved daughter," Marin wrote.

"We're still best friends, close to each other, and loving parents. Going forward we will still spend time together as a family and with each other. We wish you will respect our privacy. We won't comment further on this," she continued.

"We have lived our youth together, entered adulthood together and grown into parents for our dear daughter together," Marin said.

Marin was elected in 2019 at the age of 34, making her the youngest prime minister in the world at the time.

Marin's Social Democratic Party gained seats in April's elections, winning 19.9% of the vote, but was beaten by two competing parties, the center right National Coalition Party, which won 20.8% of the vote, and right-wing Finns Party, which won 20.1% of the vote.

The election results mean the NCP will form a coalition government under Petteri Orpo, who will become the next prime minster. While Marin's administration has officially resigned, members of it are staying in place while the details of the next ruling coalition are worked out.

Marin was popular for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for her advocacy of Finland's NATO membership.

Marin's electoral defeat came just two days after Turkey approved Finland's move to NATO, a decision that was popular with the Finnish public.

Marin also was the subject of controversy during her tenure, when video of her dancing, singing and drinking at a private party emerged. The prime minister took and passed a drug test in response to backlash over the video, and Finnish women took to social media to post clips of themselves singing and dancing in solidarity.