NATO: Stubb to be Finland's next PM, backs NATO membership - by Jussi Rosendahl and Sakari Suoninen

Finland's EU minister Alexander Stubb, who wants to cut taxes and take his neutral country into NATO, won the leadership of his ruling conservative party on Saturday, putting him on track to become prime minister later this month.

British and U.S. -educated Stubb, 46, a polyglot sportsman, will take over Finland's five-party governing coalition after Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen steps down, possibly as early as next Thursday. Finland holds a general election in April 2015.

"We have to aim at maximising Finland's national security and being part of decision-making, and that happens best as a NATO member," Stubb told Reuters after delegates at a congress of his National Coalition party elected him as their leader.

"It is absolutely clear that we have to have a comprehensive debate about that," said Stubb. He declined to say whether he favoured a referundum on joining NATO.

Since the Ukraine crisis erupted, Stubb has stepped up his long-standing support for joining the NATO alliance, but opinion polls show only one fifth of Finland's 5.5 million people agree with him.

Read more: Stubb to be Finland's next PM, backs NATO membership - Yahoo News