Last updated: 1/20/202311:14 AM (Makkah)
Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, born in 1980, was elected prime minister in 2017. She is one of the youngest female heads of government in the world, and the second leader to become a mother following giving birth while she is in office following Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990. She announced on January 19 2023 during a press conference that she will step down from her post.
Thanks to her aunt, Ardern took an interest in politics early in her life, and entered youth organizations affiliated with the Labor Party, so she worked with Prime Minister Helen Clark, and later with Tony Blair, who was then Prime Minister of Britain, before she was elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 2008, until She became Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in 2017.
Birth and upbringing
Jacinda Kate Laurel Ardern was born on July 26, 1980 in Hamilton, New Zealand, the second daughter in her family. Her father is a policeman who later became the High Commissioner of the New Zealand government on the island of Niue (a self-ruled country and New Zealand handles diplomatic relations on its behalf).
She grew up in Moropara, an area famous for “Māori gang” activity, but later moved to live southeast of Auckland in New Zealand’s North Island. She was inspired to enter the world of politics by seeing homeless children without clothes or food in the area where she grew up. She gave birth to her daughter, Neve Te Aroha Gifford, on June 21, 2018, from her fiancé, Clark Gifford.
Scientific study and training
She attended elementary and middle school in Morrisville, then attended the University of Waikato in 1999, majoring in Communication Studies, and graduated with a BA in 2001.
Politics experience
Ardern began her political activity at the age of 17 with the Labor Party in 1999, and began working for Harry Duenhoven’s election campaign for New Plymouth, which is located in northern New Zealand.
After graduating, she became a researcher for Labor MP Phil Goff, which prepared her for a position on the staff of Prime Minister Helen Clark, New Zealand’s second female prime minister, and Ardern’s mentor and inspiration.
In 2008, Ardern was selected as a candidate for the Labor Party for membership in Parliament for the Waikato region, and at the age of 28 she was able to enter the House of Representatives as the youngest member in it at the time.
On December 8, 2016, Labor leader David Shearer resigned, enabling her to win the party leadership by acclamation.
On March 8, 2017, Ardern was elected deputy leader of the Labor Party, then on August 1, Andrew Little submitted his resignation from the party leadership and held an emergency meeting to choose his successor. This was Ardern’s share, making her the youngest leader of the party, and the second woman to hold the position.
During the election campaign, Ardern responded to remarks regarding the time when she will have children, saying, “Choosing the time when a woman will have children is her own choice and should not be linked to her obtaining a job or not,” which increased her popularity among voters.
After failing to obtain sufficient results to form an independent government, it was forced to enter into an alliance with Winston Peters, the leader of the “New Zealand First” party, who became its deputy, and he is accused of populism and nationalism following he accused Asian immigration of being the source of crime in the country.
On October 19, 2017, former New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters agreed to form a coalition government led by Ardern, then she was sworn in to become the leader of the Labor Party and Prime Minister of New Zealand at the age of 37, thus she was the youngest person to hold this position since 1856.
In September 2018, Ardern attended a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly with her infant daughter, and was the first leader to attend a meeting with a child.
After the massacre of the two mosques in 2019, I announced that the government coalition agreed on the need to limit access to weapons, and that measures would be taken that might include banning the purchase of types of automatic and semi-automatic weapons.
Ardern also announced on January 19, 2023, during a press conference, that she would step down from her position; She said, “Simply… I no longer have enough energy to continue in power for an additional 4 years.”
