You’ve probably seen him all over social media: More or less famous people greeting graduating students at an American college, university, or university.

Some of the speeches are funny, others are serious – others are easily forgettable. Now, however, have The Guardian newspaper made a list of the best speeches of the year for American graduate students.

The list includes figures such as Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey – and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

Talking about democracy

On May 17 this year, Marin addressed New York University graduate students at Yankee Stadium, the iconic field of the New York Yankees baseball team.

In his speech, Marin spoke about the position of democracy in today’s world, and how he believes that the collective “we” of the West have taken for granted people’s government and its core values.

“We thought that globalization and growth would be enough to benefit everyone. We hope to see less authoritarian regimes, more respect for inequality and a world that does not discriminate against people based on their skin color, gender, sexual orientation or religion,” said Marin.

He went on to advocate for more active protection of freedom of expression, the rule of law and the press, and warned how increasing inequality and a lack of social mobility could lead to a weakening of faith in democracy as a form of government.

“Got to choose a side”

“All these questions are a battle of values. And we have to choose sides in that fight. There is no middle ground,” Marin said.

Following his speech, Marin was awarded an honorary doctorate at New York University.

Marin, 37, has been Prime Minister of Finland since June 2019. When he took office, he was the youngest head of government in the world.

To be separated

In this year’s election, Marin’s party, the Finnish Social Democratic Party (SDP), became the third largest. The stage is thus set for a change of government in Finland later this year.

After losing the election, Marin announced that he would also be stepping down as party chairman.