Antti Lindtman

Kaija Helena Stormbom

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(m. 2011)​

Antti Lindtman
Antti Lindtman in 2023
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 September 2023
Children	1
Education	University of Helsinki (2013–2016)
Website	https://anttilindtman.fi/

Antti Ilmari Lindtman (born 11 August 1982) is a Finnish politician who has served as leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) since September 2023. He has been the chairman of the city council of Vantaa since 2009 and a member of the Parliament of Finland for Uusimaa since April 2011. In April 2015, he was elected as the chairman of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group. ^[1]

Political career

Lindtman reading the declaration of Christmas Peace in 2018 as Chairman of the Vantaa City Council

Lindtmann was first elected to the Finnish parliament at the 2011 election for Uusimaa. He has been re-elected since.

Lindtman came out in support of the legislative reforms that arose from the Oulu child sexual exploitation scandal, where adult men that had come to Finland to seek asylum were discovered to have been grooming and subsequently sexually abusing and raping girls under the age of 15. ^[2]

Lindtman came in second in a vote to replace Social Democratic Party’s leader Antti Rinne in December 2019 after his resignation, narrowly losing to Transportation Minister Sanna Marin. Following the resignation of Marin after the 2023 election, Lindtman was elected to replace her as Social Democratic leader at a party meeting in Jyväskylä on 1 September 2023. ^[3]

Controversies

In October 2016, it was found out that Lindtman had handed secret lists to the speaker and deputy speakers of the Parliament of Finland in which he had suggested which MPs from the SDP should get turns to speak in plenary sessions. The speakers had been under the impression that the lists were the result of an internal agreement of the parliamentary group, whereas Lindtman had made the decision alone and without informing anyone else. The practice had continued for at least a year. ^[4] The revelation led to heavy criticism of Lindtman's actions by the members of the parliamentary group, after which Lindtman apologized for his actions. ^{[5] [6]}

In September 2023, when Antti Lindtman got elected chair of the SDP, a scandal broke out due to him in his adolescent years, posing near four other naked young adults, nude, wearing a pointed hat in the style of a christmas elf, covered by a balaclava and with an airsoft gun in hand. While two others were doing a nazi salute in the same picture. Because of this, Lindtman was accused of being a nazi. He responded by stating that the image had been taken during his time in a high school film group by the name of "Team Paha, English: Team Bad" in a Pikkujoulu party while they were messing around and firmly denied the allegation of being a national socialist. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. "Antti Lindtman". Parliament of Finland.
2. "Finnish Parliament affirms support for three proposals to prevent sex crimes". Helsinki Times. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019. Antti Lindtman, the chairperson of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group, drew attention to the exceptional nature of the joint declaration by the groups. 'This is the strongest message this house can send,' he said.
3. "SDP elects Antti Lindtman as Sanna Marin's successor". News. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
4. "Skandaali Sdp:ssä – Lindtman laatinut puhemiehistölle salaisia listoja "sopivista puhujista". ilta-Sanomat. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
5. "Sdp:n eduskuntaryhmässä kuohuu – ryhmä raivostui puheenjohtaja Lindtmanin toimintatavoista". Helsingin Sanomat. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
6. "Antti Lindtman ei aio erota: "Kannan tästä vastuun"". Ilta-Sanomat. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
7. Buncombe, Andrew (5 September 2023). "Finland's opposition leader under fire over Nazi salute photo". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
8. "Kuva leviää: Nuori Antti Lindtman mukana porukassa, jossa tehdään natsitervehdyksiä – näin Lindtman selittää". Iltasanomat (in Finnish). 5 July 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.