First Lady Jenni Haukio has given birth to a healthy baby boy.
An announcement from the President’s office came on Friday evening, and said both mother and baby are doing well.
The boy was born at Helsinki Women’s Hospital.
The child is President Niinistö’s third, and Haukio’s first. He has two adult sons from his previous marriage, which ended when his wife died in a traffic accident in 1995. Niinistö and Haukio married in 2009. She is 40. He turns 70 this year.
The new arrival comes just one day after President Niinistö took the oath of office at the start of his second term. His wife was in parliament to watch him.
“There are millions of people even in Finland who are working and very busy and still taking care of their children. It’s nothing very extraordinary here” said President Niinistö in a January interview with News Now Finland and MTV Uutiset.
The presidential couple, like most Finnish parents, took delivery of KELA’s maternity pack or ‘baby box’ as it’s commonly known - which includes essential items of clothing and other necessities to make life easier with a newborn.
First Presidential Baby
The new arrival is the first ever baby born while a parent is President of Finland.
When former President Tarja Halonen took office her daughter was married. President Martti Ahtisaari’s son was grown up at the beginning of his father’s time in office, as was President Mauno Koivisto’s daughter in 1982 when her father was elected.
Urho Kekkonen’s twin sons were also adults when their father began his long presidency in 1956. The daughters of General Mannerheim were already middle aged when Mannerheim became president.
The Finnish President’s official residence is located at Mäntyniemi in Helsinki. The buildings have almost 700 square metres of living space - ample room for an infant. Niinistö and Haukio’s private home is in Espoo.
During the summer, the presidential couple traditionally spend time at the official summer residence Kultaranta in Naantali.
