Finnish politician Eemeli Peltonen, a 30-year-old member of parliament for the Social Democratic Party, has died inside the main parliamentary building in Helsinki.

Authorities said he was found on Tuesday morning, with police confirming that no foul play was suspected.

The news of his sudden death has sent shockwaves across Finland’s political scene.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo suspended all official work for the rest of the day and led a minute of silence in his honour.

"He was a much-loved member of our community and we will miss him deeply. A young life has ended far too early," said Tytti Tuppurainen, chair of the Social Democratic parliamentary group.

Parliamentary Speaker Jussi Halla-aho also expressed his grief, describing Peltonen as a "well-liked colleague who was respected across party lines" in a post on X.

Police said they were called to the Eduskuntatalo, the parliament building, at 11:06 (08:06 GMT) on Tuesday, and Peltonen’s death was officially confirmed about three hours later.

A parliamentary statement noted that the community shared in "the grief of his relatives".

Despite parliament being in summer recess, the tragedy prompted heightened police presence around the central Helsinki building.

Peltonen was in his first term, representing the southern Uusimaa region after being elected in 2023.

His political career began early; he became a city councillor in Jarvenpaa at 18 and was later elected chairman of the city board at 22, the youngest to hold the position.

In late June, Peltonen had revealed on social media that he had been "away from a lot of parliamentary work in the last weeks" due to a kidney problem that caused an infection.

He shared that he had undergone treatment with "an intravenous antibiotic cure in Meilahti" and had been on summer sick leave while focusing on recovery.

"I'm already discharged from hospital, but due to the situation, I'm on summer sick leave and I'm now fully focused on recovering from the illness," he wrote.