Party of her Minister of Defense Finland welcomed his decision to take two months of parental leave in connection with the country’s accession process NATO.

“We are proud to support Andi Kaikkonen’s decision,” said Finance Minister and leader of the Center Party Annika Saariko.

Kaikonen announced via Twitter on Tuesday that he will be taking a two-month vacation starting January 6 to raise his second child, born in July.

“The children are still small, and I don’t want to remember them only by pictures,” she explained.

As in other Scandinavian countries, it is common for men in Finland to take parental leave after the birth of a child. They are entitled to 54 days of vacation and almost 80% use this right, although it is often not fully used. Politicians, however, rarely ask for parental leave, and Kaikkonen is one of the first. Former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen was the first to take parental leave twice, but only for a few days.

Mikos Savola, MP from the Center Party, will temporarily take over Kaikkonen’s duties in the ministry.

Finland and Sweden abandoned their policy of neutrality after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and applied to join NATO in May. Of the Alliance’s 30 members, only Hungary and Turkey have yet to ratify membership, with the latter demanding tougher action from Stockholm and Helsinki against Kurdish organizations it considers “terrorist”.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}