Helsinki - The Foreign Minister, Ms Tarja Halonen, narrowly won yesterday's Finnish presidential election to become the country's first woman president after her opponent, Mr Esko Aho, conceded defeat.
The Social Democrat won the backing of women across the political spectrum keen to end the male monopoly on the Presidency. Her chances looked in danger earlier this week when Mr Aho, while deploring the rise of Mr Jorg Haider's Freedom Party in Austria, struck a chord with many Finns by criticising the European Union over its stance toward Vienna.