The Finnish foreign minister, Tarja Halonen, has been elected as the country's first woman president.

Mrs Halonen won just over fifty-one per cent of the vote, beating her opponent, the conservative Esko Aho by a margin of three per cent in a closely fought second-round contest. The vote count will be confirmed by election officials on Wednesday but no significant change to the result is expected. Mrs Halonen said her victory meant Finland was heading towards greater equality between the sexes, although she said there was still much work to be done to achieve it.

Differences over the European Union's decision to impose sanctions on Austria dominated the last days of campaigning.

Mrs Halonen supported the EU action, but Mr Aho criticised the EU for interfering in the affairs of a sovereign member state.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service