Tsunami survivor wins Finnish presidency race

Sauli Niinistoe, a conservative pro-European who won Finland’s Presidential election on Sunday, romanced an ex-beauty queen and survived the Indian Ocean tsunami by climbing a tree.

...he narrowly escaped the tsunami in Thailand by climbing a tree with his younger son

But if it was his time as Finance Minister that earned Mr Niinistoe widespread respect and credibility, it is the dramatic events in his personal life that may have taken the edge off his no-nonsense attitude and endeared him to voters.

The veteran politician lost his wife of more than 20 years and the mother of his two sons in 1995 to a tragic road accident.

Nine years later, he narrowly escaped the tsunami in Thailand by climbing a tree with his younger son.

Before marrying his party’s spokesman, 29 years his junior, in 2009, Mr Niinistoe was engaged to an ex-beauty queen turned parliamentarian, although that relationship ended a year after the engagement. Beyond the personal drama, the 63-year-old earned credibility through his role in pulling Finland from the abyss of recession in the 1990s.

“It was one of the high points of his political career and people remember him fondly for this,” Turku University parliamentary researcher Ville Pernaa said.

Helsinki University political science professor Tuomo Martik­ainen agreed, pointing out that for many finns, “Mr Niinistoe represents practical economic expertise”.

The presidential campaign, set against the backdrop of the eurozone crisis, focused on Mr Niinistoe’s unwavering support for the common currency, which was introduced in Finland while he was finance minister from 1996 to 2003.

The avid rollerskater’s broad political experience – he served not only as Finance Minister, but also as Justice Minister and deputy Prime Minister – also won him endorsements from most of the candidates who did not make it to the second round.