Alexander Stubb, leader of Finland's centre-right National Coalition Party, has narrowly beaten competitors in the first run-off to become the president on Sunday, January 28.
He will now go head-to-head with Pekka Haavisto of the liberal Green Party in a run-off in two weeks’ time.
Finland's visibility on the world stage has grown since it joined NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, so leaders around the world will no doubt be watching the results of the presidential election closely.
Here is all we know about what happens next:
How is the Finnish president elected?
A Finnish president must be a native-born Finnish citizen and be directly elected by universal suffrage for a six-year term.
To win the presidency in the first round, a candidate must receive more than 50% of ballots cast. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a second-round run-off will take place on February 11th between the top two candidates.
No president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms. This has been the rule since 1994.
Who is Alexander Stubb?
Alexander Stubb is a politician who is well known in the country already, having served as prime minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015.
The 55-year-old rose through the political system after originally joining as a researcher, who specialised in the European Union. After impressing in the role, he was elected as a representative to the European Parliament in 2004 as a member of the National Coalition Party.
He is also a full-time professor, though is currently taking a break from that role to concentrate on his presidential campaign.
The politician has also worked as an advisor at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki and Brussels and in President Romano Prodi's team at the European Commission from 1995 to 2004. He was involved in the negotiation of the Treaties of Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon.
He previously studied at the London School of Economics where he gained a PhD in International Relations. He also holds a Master’s degree in EU administration from the College of Europe in Bruges, and a Bachelor's degree in political science from Furman University in South Carolina. He also studied French language, culture and civilisation at the Sorbonne in Paris.He is well versed in international affairs and has written numerous books and academic articles on European affairs and publishes columns for several newspapers, including the Financial Times, on a regular basis.He is married to Suzanne Innes-Stubb, a British-Finnish lawyer and they share two children, born in 2001 and 2004.
What was the vote share?
With all votes from Sunday’s election counted, Stubb gained 27.2 percent of the vote, followed by Haavisto at 25.8 percent. Nationalist Jussi Halla-aho came in in third place with 19 percent of the vote.
What was the turnout?
Turnout was 71.5 percent, up from 66.76 percent at the 2018 presidential election, but down from the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election which saw a turnout of 72.6 percent.
What happens next?
The final two candidates will now go into a final run-off on February 11.
Stubb is at the front after edging the vote on Sunday, January 28 but will be up against Pekka Haavisto of the liberal Green Party.
The pair will now work to gain the votes from other candidates no longer in the running.
Speaking after Sunday's result, Stubb said: "You know what, we made it to the final, but the competition will only begin now."
His rival in the second round, former Foreign Minister Haavisto is a human rights defender who has also worked as a peace negotiator. If elected, he would become Finland's first openly gay president.
Haavisto said in a speech to his supporters: “Now our task is to reach those whose candidate is not in the second round."
