Important Facts About New Zealand’s New Prime Minister

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New Zealand recently swore in a new government with Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern taking over as the country’s Prime Minister. With an election that ultimately led to a hung parliament and various rounds of negotiations, the shift in power could be said to mark a new political era. Here’s what you need to know about Ardern’s leadership journey and what she envisions for her homeland. Let’s exploce Important Facts About New Zealand’s New Prime Minister below.

Important Facts About New Zealand’s New Prime Minister

She’s New Zealand’s third woman leader

Jenny Shipley was the first woman to ascend to the top governing position, from 8 Dec 1997-5 Dec 1999, after staging a successful coup against her predecessor Jim Bolger.
Helen Clark became the first woman to be elected Prime Minister in 1999, staying in power until 2008 when the National Party won the elections.

She’s New Zealand’s youngest leaders in decades

Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern was born on July 26, 1980 in Waikato, about an hour’s drive south of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. She is the third woman to become New Zealand’s prime minister and, at 39, is the youngest New Zealand leader since the 1850s, according to her official government biography.
“Ardern had the most meteoric rise to power of any New Zealand PM three months prior to being sworn in, she was not even leader of her party,” the biography read. Profile of a leader:Jacinda Ardern leads New Zealand in aftermath of killings police say could have been worse. Ardern, a member of the Labour party, graduated from the University of Waikato with a bachelors of communications studies in public relations and political science. She also worked in Britain’s Cabinet and Home offices.

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Ardern is also New Zealand’s youngest leader in 150 years

Born 26 Jul 1980, 37 year old Jacinda Ardern is among the youngest world leaders, as well as being the second youngest leader in the history of New Zealand. Incidentally, she only loses out to Edward Stafford who was the country’s Premier between 1856 to 1872 by approximately 18 days.

A respectable political background propelled her to the top position

The Labour Party voted unanimously for Ardern to take Little’s place despite the fact that she originally believed she would be the last person to do the job. It was her charisma and strong political credentials that brought this unified sense of confidence: Ardern has been a member of the Labour Party since she was 17, started working in politics as a researcher for PM Helen Clark, had a stint as a policy adviser for Tony Blair in the United Kingdom, became a list MP (i.e. someone who gained a seat in Parliament by being elected from the party list, rather than geographical constituency) in 2008 and had an electorate to call her own in February 2017 before coming in as a party leader in August.

 

Important Facts About New Zealand's New Prime Minister

She refuses to give the shooter notoriety

Ardern promised her nation’s parliament that she will not permit notoriety of the man who killed and wounded those at Christchurch. His name has been stricken from all of her future conversations, she said. “He is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he is an extremist, but he will, when I speak, be nameless, and to others I implore you: Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them. He may have sought notoriety but we in New Zealand will give him nothing not even his name.”

She’s not afraid of speaking out against double standards

A few hours after being elected Labour leader in August 2017, Ardern was faced with a topic that a male contender would not have been asked about: motherhood and the potential of starting a family.
She has always been open about her desire to have children at some point in the future but it was the fact that she was asked about it just seven hours into the job that rubbed her the wrong way. Ardern took the opportunity to defend women’s rights to keeping their child bearing plans to themselves, no matter what position they’re working in, adding it is ‘totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that women should have to answer that question in the workplace’.

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And she isn’t afraid to speak up about mental health

Mental health is a major issue in New Zealand, with increased suicide rates and an overall scarcity in adequate resources being among the top concerns. Ardern’s government has promised to conduct a full review of the country’s mental health system, and the Prime Minister herself has openly talking about her own battles with anxiety.

Important Facts About New Zealand's New Prime Minister