COUNTRY OF BIRTH

New Zealand

INDUSTRY

Politics

TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

Jacinda Ardern became prime minister of New Zealand at 37, making her the youngest elected female head of government. She describes herself as a social democrat and progressive, and is known for her emphasis on kindness and empathy. She was especially praised for her handling of the Christchurch shootings in 2019. She has also been commended for her respomse to the Coronavirus pandemic. In June 2020, New Zealand was declared "free" of COVID-19.

EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION

Jacinda Ardern was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, the daughter of a police officer and a school cook. She studied at Morrinsville College and then earned a Bachelor of Communication Studies in politics and public relations from the University of Waikato. As a teenager, Arderm’s aunt recruited her to work on the reelection campaign of Harry Duynhoven of the Labour Party. Ardern joined the Labour party herself when she was 17 and became a leader in the youth sector.

EARLY CAREER

Jacinda Ardern’s first foray into the professional world was working as a researcher in the office of then-Prime Minister Helen Clark. After a brief time in New York City, Ardern relocated to London and served as a senior political adviser in a unit of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. In 2008, Ardern was elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth. Around the same time, Ardern decided to return to New Zealand from London and was elected as an MP in the general election (the same year Labour lost its power). She spent the next near-decade as a member of Parliament. In February 2017, she became the MP for the Auckland electorate Mt. Albert. In August of the same year, she became the Leader of the Labour party, just seven weeks before general elections. As leader of the opposition, she launched an election campaign of "relentless positivity." The end results were that Labour won an extra 14 seats in Parliament, the best results since the party was unseated in 2008. Ardern became the new prime minister when New Zealand First leader agreed to form a coalition with Labour.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Jacinda Ardern became the youngest leader of the Labour Party in history at the age of 37. She is also the youngest female elected head of government. In March 2019, shootings took place at two mosques in Christchurch, and Ardern was widely praised for her response. She took a strong stance against extremist views and created stronger gun control legislation.

RECOGNITION

Ardern was named as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes in 2019. She was also included in the Time 100 list of 2019 and was shortlisted for Time's Person of the Year.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

• Ardern was raised as part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand but left in 2005 becuase it conflicted with her support of gay rights.
• Achieved the East African Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014
• In 2018, Ardern became the first prime minister in New Zealand to be pregnant while in office. She took six weeks of maternity leave after her daughter was born.
• Her partner is television presenter Clarke Gayford