Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin files for divorce

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has announced that she and her husband, Markus Räikkönen, are filing for divorce. 

The pair posted the news, separately, on their Instagram accounts on Wednesday afternoon. 

"We have filed for divorce together. We are grateful for 19 years together and for our beloved daughter," the PM wrote. 

The couple say they remain the best of friends, and will "continue to spend time together as a family and with each other." 

Marin and Räikkönen were married in August 2020, and have a 5-year-old daughter together. The wedding, at the PM's official residence in Helsinki, came as a surprise during a COVID lockdown respite in Finland. 

However her private life hit the headlines in late summer 2022 when video of Marin dancing closely with a Finnish musician went viral. At one point he appears to lean down and kiss her neck, but Marin dismissed the incident, saying that she had done nothing inappropriate. 

Marin was officially cleared of any wrongdoing in an investigation, following a number of complaints about her behaviour, and after taking a drugs test which came back negative. 

Finland's Chancellor of Justice said in November that he had "no reason to suspect the prime minister of illegal conduct in the minister's official position or neglect of duty." 

Despite gaining more votes and picking up three extra seats in April's general election, Marin's Social Democrats came third in the poll behind two right-wing parties. 

Soon after, she announced that she would no longer continue as party chairperson, and will step down from the role in September. 

Marin has indicated that, in the short term at least, she will continue as a backbench MP. 

She currently leads a caretaker government, while negotiations to form