affairs. On 23 June 2016, Vanhanen was chosen as the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament. In the first round of the presidential election, Vanhanen placed fifth with 4.1 percent of the votes, while the incumbent president Sauli Niinistö went on to secure his second term with a majority of votes. After getting re-elected in 2019 parliamentary election, Vanhanen was elected as the Speaker of the Parliament. In June 2020, after Katri Kulmuni's resignation, Vanhanen was appointed Minister of Finance. Though he initially didn't want to accept the offer, he changed his mind and accepted out of a sense of duty. In May 2021 Vanhanen announced his resignation from the post to hand it over to party chair Annika Saarikko. Personality Vanhanen has been characterised as uncharismatic and even boring, which he has attempted to turn to his advantage in tense political situations. Vanhanen is known for being a teetotaler, saying that he does not like the taste of alcohol. Matti Vanhanen was against the independence movement in the Baltic States during the 1980s. In his column in Suomenmaa in 1985, Vanhanen condemned the Baltic independence movement both for "wishing to change the Soviet system" and for "indifference towards the post Second World War reality." Vanhanen claimed that the difference between capitalism and socialism was not significant; and that instead of being concerned about the Soviet system, it would be better to concentrate, for example, on the research of Finno-Ugric languages. In 2009, he visited China and credited the government for being systematic, as well as being able to place clear priorities and to mobilise the required resources to accomplish them. In his opinion, the Western world ought to note the example of China, where policies are implemented rapidly and effectively. He said he was impressed of the progress the country has made in dealing with difficult issues. Vanhanen married Merja Vanhanen in 1985. They have two children: Annastiina (born 1991) and Juhana (born 1994). Matti Vanhanen and Merja Vanhanen unexpectedly announced their divorce on 6 April 2005. After his divorce, he dated Susan Kuronen (she later changed her last name to Ruusunen). In February 2007, Kuronen released a tell-all book The Prime Minister's Bride, which actually boosted the prime minister's popularity with the public. Tens of thousands of Finns signed an online petition against the book and some bookstores refused to put it on the shelf.