As president, Stubb\u2019s main duties in his six-year term will be overseeing foreign and security policy, representing the country in NATO and serving as commander in chief of his country\u2019s military. Finland has \u201ca semi-presidential system, a cross between a president with real powers and a party-driven parliament,\u201d said Brent Nelsen, the Jane Fishburne Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Furman.<\/p>\n
Stubb is the first Furman graduate to serve as a head of state. As commencement speaker in 2017<\/a>, he explained that he came to Furman because his brother had studied here. At first he wanted to study business, but he quickly became interested in political science.<\/p>\n Alex Stubb ’93 H’17 with graduates in 2017.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cAlex Stubb is a remarkable leader,\u201d said Furman University President Elizabeth Davis. \u201cHe is an engaging and profoundly curious person with a strong moral compass that always points to doing what\u2019s best for his fellow citizens. I\u2019m tremendously happy for him, and proud of him. He will be an excellent president for his home country of Finland.\u201d<\/p>\n Stubb\u2019s election, Nelsen said, \u201cis amazing! We always knew Alex was going places. I thought when he was prime minister he might have been at the top of his game, and maybe he would be elected a commissioner in the European Union.\u201d<\/p>\n There weren\u2019t significant policy differences between Stubb and Haavisto, Nelsen said. The country recently joined NATO, a move Stubb has long supported and Haavisto, as foreign minister, brokered. They both are staunchly defiant of Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. Finland, a country of just over 5 million people, smaller than Metro Atlanta, shares an 832-plus-mile border with Russia. In recent months Finland has closed the border<\/a> in an attempt to control a flood of migrants from Russia.<\/p>\n Stubb\u2019s advantage, Nelsen said, was his long experience in Finland\u2019s government. Stubb served as Finland\u2019s prime minister from 2014 to 2015, a role that focuses mainly on domestic policy. Stubb has also served as minister of foreign affairs and minister of finance, among other positions, and he was a member of the European Parliament, among other roles. He was vice president of the European Investment Bank from 2017 to 2020.<\/p>\n Brent Nelsen and Alex Stubb around 1994. Photo courtesy Nelsen.<\/p><\/div>\n He\u2019s also very outgoing and personable. He took to social media quickly and built large followings posting about his participation in triathlons. And, he\u2019s seen as a family man, which appeals to the relatively conservative Finns, Nelsen said.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2022\/08\/stubb-with-grads-speech-1-768x522.jpg\")
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