The kings Felipe and Letizia continue with their intense diplomatic agenda this autumn. Just a few days after welcoming the French president Emmanuel Macron to Madrid, the royal couple have just arrived in Finland for a three-day visit. In Helsinki they have been received by their hosts: the President Alexander Stubb and his wife, the British Suzanne Innes-Stubb. This is the first state visit by a Spanish monarch to this Nordic country in 37 years. The last one was carried out by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in 1989.
After hosting a reception with the Spanish community residing in Finland, the first full day of engagements for Felipe and Letizia began this Tuesday with an official welcoming ceremony in front of the Presidential Palace of Helsinki. Subsequently, the King of Spain met separately with the President of the Finnish Parliament and with the Prime Minister, while Letizia visited a bilingual school alongside the First Lady. On Wednesday, a trip to Rovaniemi, in the Arctic, is planned to address the NATO security flank and Europe’s borders.
One of the highlights of the State visit has been the decision to award the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic to President Alexander Stubb. This is Spain’s highest diplomatic distinction to reward civil merits of extraordinary character. The proposal was submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and it also includes awarding the Grand Cross of the same order to the Finnish First Lady.
Former Finnish centre-right prime minister, Alexander Stubb became, in 2024, the president of the country after winning the second round against his rival Pekka Haavisto in the most closely contested elections in the country in recent years. Stubb was born in Helsinki and has served as a member of the European Parliament, a member of the Finnish Parliament, and prime minister between 2014 and 2015. Outside politics, he has worked as vice-president of the European Investment Bank and as a professor at the University of Florence.
Alexander and Suzanne, a modern couple
The current President of Finland met his wife in 1994, while they were both pursuing a postgraduate degree at the prestigious College of Europe in Bruges. The politician has confessed that he felt “an instant crush” upon seeing her for the first time during a student breakfast, but since she was in a relationship at that moment, they had to start as only friends. Alexander Stubb often jokes that that period was his first great exercise in patience and diplomacy.
The King and Queen of Spain with the Finnish presidential couple in Helsinki.
Suzanne Innes-Stubb was born in England, to professor parents, and her childhood took place on the family farm. Before becoming the first person of foreign origin to assume the role of First Lady of Finland, she stood out for her brilliant career in commercial law and worked as Vice President of Global Compliance at the Finnish elevator multinational KONE. After the election of her husband, she decided to leave the corporate sector and joined Aalto University as a professor to better balance her career with her institutional duties.
Before the elections, Suzanne Innes-Stubb stated that she hoped that, as the president’s wife, she could demonstrate how much Finland means to her. In particular, she stated that she would like to promote the well-being of families, work to prevent social exclusion and bring people together through music and sport. “I would also like to contribute to the fight against domestic violence,” said the president’s wife.
Queen Letizia and Suzanne Innes-Stubb during their visit to a school.
Suzanne Innes-Stubb was born in England, to professor parents, and her childhood took place on the family farm. Before becoming the first person of foreign origin to assume the role of First Lady of Finland, she stood out for her brilliant career in commercial law and worked as Vice President of Global Compliance at the Finnish elevator multinational KONE. After the election of her husband, she decided to leave the corporate sector and joined Aalto University as a professor to better balance her career with her institutional duties.
Alexander and Suzanne Innes-Stubb are parents of two children (and a cat, Milo) and stand out as one of the most stylish couples in European politics. Highly cosmopolitan, both can boast of speaking five languages each. Alexander Stubb speaks Finnish, Swedish (the two official languages of the country), English, French and German with complete fluency. Suzanne is not far behind and performs in English, French, German, Swedish and Finnish.
Triathlon enthusiasts
Both Alexander Stubb and his wife are great sports enthusiasts. They regularly compete in triathlons, having participated in events such as Ironman, the world’s most demanding long-distance triathlon competition. The couple also act as official hosts of major international sporting events of great significance in their country, such as the Floorball World Championships: a sport very similar to ice hockey, but played with sneakers.
Precisely on an ice hockey rink last April we saw Alexander Stubb play a game with the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, and members of the Ottawa Charge. The politician, who was a university student in South Carolina, has also used sport as a diplomatic tool alongside Donald Trump, with whom he played a golf tournament that helped cement a good friendship between the two leaders.
