Social Democratic Party chair and former prime minister Antti Rinne was voted Parliament’s first deputy speaker on Wednesday afternoon.
Rinne received the vote of 101 MPs for the position, with 59 lawmakers abstaining from the ballot. One vote was rejected. Twelve other votes went in favour of various other MPs.
The first deputy position became vacant when former office holder SDP MP Tuula Haatainen took up the post of Labour Minister in the Minister of Economic Affairs and Employment.
That followed a cabinet shakeup after Rinne resigned as PM and handed over the reins of government to SDP vice chair Sanna Marin.
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Rinne’s resignation followed a declaration of no confidence in him by the Centre Party over his role in a labour market dispute between postal workers and state-owned national mail carrier Posti.
The Centre’s Matti Vanhanen continues in his role as parliamentary speaker, while the opposition Finns Party’s Juha Eerola remains second deputy speaker.