Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubbe was declared the winner of Sunday’s presidential run-off, underscoring the importance of his country’s membership in NATO.
In January’s presidential election, the top two candidates failed to receive a majority of votes in the first round and entered the runoff.
According to Finland’s Ministry of Justice, Stubbe, who heads the ruling centre-right National Union party, won 51.6% of the vote, while former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto of the centre-left Green Party won 48.4%.
Mr. Stubb was elected to succeed President Sauli Niinistö, who served two terms for 12 years.
Last April, Finland joined the NATO military alliance, ending decades of non-alignment in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland and Russia share a border of approximately 1,300 kilometers.
In a speech in the capital Helsinki, Stubb said the post-Cold War era was over.
Stubb mentioned the three pillars of Finland’s defense policy: defense spending, which accounts for 2.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), NATO membership, and the defense cooperation agreement Finland signed with the United States in December.
Finland has been on heightened alert since last summer. The Nordic country has closed most of its border crossings with Russia, citing a sharp rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country.
Finland accused Moscow of deliberately sending them to cause chaos.