Kurvinen made Science and Culture Minister

Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party of Finland), the second largest component of the five-party alliance government has selected its parliamentary group chair Antti Kurvinen as the Science and Culture minister, the party and government sources said on Wednesday.

President Sauli Niinistö will administrate the oath of the new minister on Thursday morning.

The Keskusta decided to appoint a new minister as the Finance Minister, Matti Vanhanen decided to resign from the cabinet.

The incumbent Science and Culture Minister, Annika Saarikko, also Chair of the party will replace him resulting the new appointment of Kurvinen as the minister of Science and Culture.

Earlier, talking to a Finnish language agricultural newspaper Maaseudun tulevaisuus on Saturday, Saarikko said that she wanted Vanhanen to continue as the Finance Minister as long as he likes but finally the responsibility goes to her.

Vanhanen, also a former Prime Minister of the country will now return to the parliament as a rank-and-file MP.

Vanhanen took over the charge as Finance Minister of the country in June, 2020.

The party unanimously nominated Vanhanen to replace Katri Kulmuni after Kulmuni resigned from the post of finance minister cum deputy prime minister following a controversy raised over a service procurement of about EUR 50,000 from a communications consultancy firm.

Vanhanen, aged 64, was the prime minister of the country and also the chairman of the Keskusta from 2003 to 2010.

He returned to parliament as a lawmaker in 2015 and elected the Speaker after the 2019 elections.