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Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand

Photo: Governor-General of New Zealand, CC BY-SA 4.0

Why current?

2020-11-21

In October 2020, Jacinda Ardern won a second term as New Zealand’s prime minister.  It was a landslide victory.  Since first becoming prime minister of the small island nation in 2017, Ardern has gained worldwide praise for her handling of the coronavirus, as well as for her response to two other tragic events in her country that tested her ability to lead.

Since starting her career in politics, Ardern has concerned herself with issues of poverty.  She promised to prioritize ending childhood poverty during her first term as prime minister.  She also said she would make housing more affordable.  Her promises were lofty, and many New Zealanders thought that she was failing to deliver on them.

Then New Zealand was hit with three devastating events where she showed remarkable leadership.  Her handling of  a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption, and the spread of the coronavirus in New Zealand, earned her respect, not only at home but around the world.

“It takes courage and strength to be empathetic, and I am very proudly an empathetic and compassionate leader. “

-Jacinda Ardern

More about Jacinda Ardern

  • Born Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern, on July 26, 1980, in Hamilton, New Zealand.
  • Grew up in small towns where she saw a lot of poverty.  Already at the age of 17, a passion for helping the poor took root, and Ardern’s political views started to form.
  • Became a member of Parliament in 2008.  As an MP, she worked hard to tackle the problem of child poverty in New Zealand, highlighting in particular the great economic struggles faced by the indigenous Maori population.  She also was a champion of gay rights.
  • Met fiancé Clarke Gayford in 2012.
  • Became prime minister in 2017, at the age of 37.  Ardern was the youngest woman to ever hold the office and the youngest person to hold the office since 1819.
  • With the birth of daughter Neve Te Aroha on June 21, 2018, Ardern became the first world leader in almost 30 years to give birth while in office.  (One came before her – Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan in 1990).  People around the world admired Ardern’s ability to balance the challenges of being a first-time mother with the demands of being prime minister. But Ardern brushed off the praise by saying that she was far from unique in this respect.  She pointed out that millions of women are struggling to make ends meet while raising their children.  She also said that she was lucky to have a supportive partner – something many mothers don’t have.
  • Wore a traditional Maori robe to meet Queen Elizabeth in England.  This act was viewed as a statement of support for the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand and drew much praise.
  • Ardern was not that popular at first.  Some of her progressive positions didn’t sit well with much of the country’s conservative population,  But then three tragedies took place, during which she showed herself to be a strong leader.  Here they are:
  • 1) On March 15, 2019, a terrorist attack on two mosques in the city of Christchurch shocked the nation.  51 people were killed and 40 injured by an Australian white supremacist.  Ardern acted swiftly and decisively amidst the horror.  Within days, she announced a ban on military style assault rifles.  She declared the shooter a terrorist and refused to utter his name in public, saying she didn’t want to give him any recognition.  She was seen comforting people who had lost loved-ones, and she  brought the country together in its shared grief.
  • 2) In December 2019, a deadly earthquake killed 21 people on White Island.  Again, Ardern was seen as a compassionate leader who reached out to those who were suffering.
  • 3) In early 2020, the coronavirus was spreading around the globe.  Ardern operated by the motto, “hard and early,” which meant that in order to stop the spread of the virus one had to put strict rules in place, as early as possible.  Which she did.  Businesses did suffer as a result of lockdowns, but the country largely rid itself of the virus.  Many other countries look to New Zealand now as a model of how to control the pandemic.  Again, Ardern was praised for her competence.  But she says that she simply “followed the science.”
  • For her second term, Ardern has given high government positions to people of diverse backgrounds, including Grant Robertson, New Zealand’s first openly gay deputy prime minister.  She also appointed Nanaia Mahuta to the position of foreign minister – the first female Maori to hold the office.  Ardern’s areas of focus in her second term include combating climate change, continuing her fight against poverty, and managing the economic fall-out from the coronavirus shutdowns.

Sources: bbc.com, “Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand’s prime minister,” https://www.bbc.com/jacinda-ardern; October 17, 2020; The New York Times Editorial Board, “America Deserves a Leader as Good as Jacinda Ardern, “https://www.nytimes.com/opinion/ardern. March 21, 2019; Cave, Damien, The New York Times, “Jacinda Ardern, Hero to Liberals Abroad, is Validated at Home,” https://www.nytimes.com//jacinda-ardern-election, October 17, 2020; Wikipedia, “Jacinda Ardern,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinda_Ardern; Taylor, Phil, The Guardian, “Jacinda Ardern unveils diverse new cabinet to focus on COVID-19 recovery,” https://www.theguardian.com/world/ardern-cabinet, November 2, 2020; 

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