Jacinda Ardern

The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern GNZM
Ardern in August 2022
40th Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 26 October 2017 – 25 January 2023
Monarch	Elizabeth II Charles III
Governor-General	Patsy Reddy Cindy Kiro
Deputy	Winston Peters Grant Robertson
Preceded by	Bill English
Succeeded by	Chris Hipkins
17th Leader of the Labour Party
In office 1 August 2017 – 22 January 2023
Deputy	Kelvin Davis
Preceded by	Andrew Little
Succeeded by	Chris Hipkins
36th Leader of the Opposition
In office 1 August 2017 – 26 October 2017
Deputy	Kelvin Davis
Preceded by	Andrew Little
Succeeded by	Bill English
17th Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office 1 March 2017 – 1 August 2017
Leader	Andrew Little
Preceded by	Annette King
Succeeded by	Kelvin Davis
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Mount Albert
In office 8 March 2017 – 15 April 2023
Preceded by	David Shearer
Succeeded by	Helen White
Majority	21,246
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party List
In office 8 November 2008 – 8 March 2017
Succeeded by	Raymond Huo
Personal details
Born	Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern (1980-07-26) 26 July 1980 (age 44) Hamilton, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Domestic partner	Clarke Gayford (2013–present; engaged)
Children	1
Parents	Ross Ardern (father)
Alma mater	University of Waikato (BCS)

Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern^[1] GNZM (/dʒəˈsɪndə ˈɑːrdɜːrn/;^[2] born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician. She was the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand and the Leader of the Labour Party from October 2017 to January 2023. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2008. She was the member of Parliament (MP) for Mount Albert from 2017 to 2023.^[3]

Ardern was born in Hamilton and grew up in Morrinsville and Murupara. After graduating from the University of Waikato in 2001, Ardern began her career working as a researcher for Prime Minister Helen Clark. She later worked in London in the Cabinet Office, and was elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth.^[4][5] Ardern was first elected as an MP in the 2008 general election, when Labour lost control after nine years. She was later elected to represent the Mount Albert electorate in a by-election in February 2017.

Ardern was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party on 1 March 2017, after the resignation of Annette King. Just five months later, after Labour's leader Andrew Little resignation, Ardern was elected as party leader.^[6] She led her party to win 14 seats at the 2017 general election on 23 September, winning 46 seats to the National Party's 56.^[7] After working with New Zealand First, a minority coalition government with Labour and New Zealand First was formed, supported by the Green Party. Ardern became Prime Minister and she was sworn in by the governor-general on 26 October 2017.^[8] She became the world's youngest female head of government at age 37.^[9] Ardern later became the world's second elected head of government to give birth while in office when her daughter was born in June 2018.^[10]

Ardern calls herself a social democrat and a progressive.^[11][12] Her government has focused on the New Zealand housing crisis, child poverty, and social inequality. In March 2019, she became popular because of her leadership during the Christchurch mosque shootings and for introducing strict gun laws in response. For much of 2020, she also became popular for the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ardern led the Labour Party to a historic victory in the 2020 general election, winning a majority of 65 seats in Parliament.

In January 2023, Ardern announced she would resign as Labour leader and prime minister within a few weeks.^[13] She left office on 25 January and was replaced by Chris Hipkins.^[14]

1. ↑ "Members Sworn". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New Zealand Parliament. p. 2. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013.
2. ↑ "Australian journalist surprised by Jacinda Ardern's accessibility". Stuff. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
3. ↑ Election results Archived 6 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
4. ↑ "People – New Zealand Labour Party". Archived from the original on 23 December 2008.
5. ↑ Kirk, Stacey (1 August 2017). "Jacinda Ardern says she can handle it and her path to the top would suggest she's right". The Dominion Post. Stuff. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
6. ↑ Davison, Isaac (1 August 2017). "Andrew Little quits: Jacinda Ardern is new Labour leader, Kelvin Davis is deputy". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
7. ↑ "2017 General Election – Official Results". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
8. ↑ Griffiths, James (19 October 2017). "Jacinda Ardern to become New Zealand Prime Minister". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
9. ↑ "The world's youngest female leader takes over in New Zealand". The Economist. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017.
10. ↑ Cite error: The named reference :1 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
11. ↑ Murphy, Tim (1 August 2017). "What Jacinda Ardern wants". Newsroom. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
12. ↑ "Live: Jacinda Ardern answers NZ's questions". Stuff.co.nz. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
13. ↑ Cite error: The named reference resignation was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
14. ↑ "Chris Hipkins, New Zealand's New Leader, Hopes to Put Ardern Behind Him". The New York Times. 24 January 2022.