Alexander Stubb

Prime Minister of Finland

1 April 1968 Helsinki, Finland

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24 June 2014 – 29 May 2015

Finnish politician Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb (born 1 April 1968) is a Finnish politician who served as the Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015. He rose to politics as a researcher specialized in the affairs of the European Union and was elected to the European Parliament in 2004 as a member of the National Coalition Party. In 2008, Stubb was appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs following a scandal surrounding his predecessor, Ilkka Kanerva. In 2011 Stubb stood for election to the Finnish Parliament for the first time and was elected MP with the second highest vote count in the election, which led to Stubb becoming the Minister for Europe and Foreign Trade in Jyrki Katainen's cabinet. 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. In the election held in April 2015, Stubb's National Coalition Party lost its status as the largest party, coming in as second in vote share and third in seats. After coalition negotiations between the winning Center 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 Minister of Interior Petteri Orpo. On 11 June Stubb lost the leadership election against Orpo in the party conference. After declining ministerial positions, Stubb went on to continue as a Member of Parliament. In June 2017, he was chosen as the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, after the previous representative from Finland Jan Vapaavuori had vacated the seat. In October 2018, Stubb announced his candidacy for the EPP nomination for President of the European Commission in the 2019 European Parliament election, but ultimately lost in an election against Manfred Weber. After Stubb's 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.