Jacinda Ardern

• Born: July 26, 1980
• Place of Birth: Hamilton, New Zealand

Politician

Place of birth: Hamilton, New Zealand

Education: Waikato University

Significance: Jacinda Ardern became the youngest member of New Zealand’s Parliament when she was elected in 2008 at the age of twenty-eight. In August 2017, she became the leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, and months later she became New Zealand's prime minister after forming a coalition government. Her administration won worldwide attention for its progressive policies, and she was elected to a second term in 2020. However, in January 2023 Ardern abruptly announced that she was stepping down from the position of prime minister.

Background

Jacinda Ardern was born in 1980 in Hamilton, New Zealand. Her father, Ross Ardern, a former police officer, would later be appointed the New Zealand high commissioner to Niue in 2013. Ardern grew up in a Mormon household in the Waikato town of Morrinsville and the Bay of Plenty town of Murupara. She attended school in Morrinsville and was an active member of the high school debating team. Ardern enrolled at Waikato University, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in communications studies in 1999.

Ardern joined the Labour Party at seventeen years of age. She was soon intimately involved in the activities of the Young Labour Party, serving as the organization’s vice president between 2003 and 2004. She then held positions as a parliamentary staff member for various Labour Party politicians. She worked in the office of Prime Minister Helen Clark as well as for Labour Party stalwarts Phil Goff and Harry Duynhoven. Following this, Ardern left New Zealand to explore job opportunities overseas. She lived in London for three years, working as a policy adviser for the Better Regulations Executive in the United Kingdom Cabinet Office. In 2008 she was elected as the president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, for which she traveled to India, Lebanon, the West Bank and Algeria.

Early Political Career

Ardern returned to New Zealand in 2008 with the aim of starting her political career. She entered the Labour Party list at number twenty for the 2008 election campaign. Although she was unable to win her Waikato electorate seat, her high placing on the list ensured her entrance into Parliament. During her first term, the twenty-eight-year-old Ardern was the youngest Member of Parliament (MP) in the country. Her hope was to be part of a generation of parliamentarians that sought to increase the participation of young people in politics and political debate. In 2010 the Green Party candidate Gareth Hughes replaced Ardern as New Zealand’s youngest MP.

In her first statement to Parliament, Ardern criticized New Zealand’s climate change policy and advocated for Māori language reforms throughout New Zealand schools. During her first term she was appointed as the Labour Party spokesperson for Youth Affairs as well as the associate spokesperson for Justice. Ardern began to gain a wider public profile through television appearances. She debated political issues on the Breakfast television news show as well as the Television New Zealand politics show Back Benches.

During the 2011 election campaign Ardern moved constituencies from Waikato to Auckland Central. She competed for the seat against National Party incumbent Nikki Kaye, losing by just 717 votes. Even with the loss, however, she once again returned to Parliament based on her list position. The leadership of the Labour Party changed during this period, and under new leader David Shearer, Ardern was raised to fourth place in the Labour Party rankings. She became the spokesperson for Social Development. When Shearer’s leadership was challenged, Ardern openly supported Grant Robertson for the new Labour Party leader. During Robertson’s attempt at gaining the party leadership he announced that Ardern would be his deputy. However, Robertson and Ardern lost the leadership to Andrew Little in 2014.

Ardern became well known as a vocal supporter for marriage equality in New Zealand. She supported the private members bill proposed by a fellow Labour Member of Parliament, Louisa Wall, to legalize same-sex marriage in New Zealand. Ardern recalled during a parliamentary address on the bill that she had left the Mormon Church during her teenage years due to her belief that same-sex couples ought to have the same right to marry as heterosexual couples. Ardern later served as Labour’s spokesperson for Justice, Children, and Small Business, as well as Arts, Culture and Heritage. She was also a member of the Justice and Electoral Committee.

Party Leader and Prime Minister

Ardern raised her political profile considerably from the mid-2010s, gaining national attention as an up-and-coming star in the Labour Party. In early 2017 she stood for a by-election in the Mount Albert district, a Labour stronghold in Auckland, New Zealand, and won by a large margin. Soon after, Labour's deputy leader, Annette King, resigned and Ardern was unanimously elected to take up that post. Many commentators spoke of Ardern as a likely future head of the party and possibly an eventual prime minister.

However, polls suggested Labour was not particularly popular ahead of the September 2017 general election, in which the rival National Party sought to extend its nearly decade-long hold on power. Just before the election Little stepped down as Labour leader, reportedly after convincing a reluctant Ardern to run to replace him. Ultimately Ardern was the only nominee for the position. On August 1, 2017, she was elected Labour Party leader and tasked with guiding the party through the upcoming election.

Ardern soon proved skilled at rallying Labour's base, proving especially popular among younger voters and women. She campaigned on a largely progressive platform, calling for liberal social reforms such as anti-poverty efforts, free higher education, and legalized abortion. She also attracted attention both in New Zealand and abroad for her feminist outlook, including forceful responses to journalists who focused on her private life rather than her political ideas. The surge in popularity Ardern experienced was dubbed "Jacindamania" by the press, a phenomenon that earned comparisons to the optimistic campaigns that had brought US president Barack Obama and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to power.

In the September 2017 general election Ardern's Labour Party gained fourteen seats in Parliament. Labour's vote share of about 36 percent was enough to deny a majority for the National Party, which gained an approximate 46 percent vote. The results meant that a coalition would be required to form a government, with the New Zealand First Party holding an outsize role in determining who would take power. After weeks of negotiation New Zealand First announced it would partner with Labour, supported by the Green Party. As a result Ardern became prime minister, and was sworn in on October 26, 2017.

As prime minister Ardern continued her focus on progressive policies, seeking to address inequality, housing reform, and other issues. She cultivated an image as a down-to-earth leader, comfortable engaging with average citizens as well as fellow politicians. She also faced notable challenges, including one of the worst mass shootings in New Zealand history in March 2019, when a gunman attacked a mosque in the city of Christchurch. Ardern condemned the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the shooter, and supported a more restrictive gun law that was quickly passed by Parliament. Another crisis came in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the world. Ardern and her administration took quick action to limit the spread of the disease, implementing a strict nationwide lockdown. Her measures were widely credited with making New Zealand one of the countries to most effectively contain the virus early in the pandemic, although some critics argued the restrictions were excessive and harmed the economy more than was necessary. In August 2020 Ardern announced that the 2020 parliamentary election would be delayed from September 19 to October 17 due to the pandemic situation.

When the elections were held that October, Ardern was reelected as prime minister and the Labour party won a landslide majority of sixty-five seats in the House of Representatives. Throughout her second term Ardern maintained many of her signature policies. In December 2020 her administration declared a climate change emergency within New Zealand and announced efforts to make the country carbon neutral by 2025, reflecting her commitment to environmental causes. She also continued to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by continuing isolation measures and implementing vaccination programs. A second nationwide lockdown was enacted in August 2021. However, polls began to show that the popularity of New Zealand's strict approach to COVID-19 was beginning to wane, with Ardern's own approval rating falling significantly as well. Anti-lockdown demonstrations proliferated, while critics noted that New Zealand's COVID-19 vaccination rate lagged well behind most other developed nations. In October 2021 Ardern's government abandoned its "zero-COVID" strategy, acknowledging that completely eliminating the virus was no longer a feasible approach.

In May 2022 Ardern embarked on a diplomatic mission to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden with the goal of renewing pledges of cooperation on several ongoing world issues, including territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. That June she led New Zealand's first involvement in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, where she condemned China's aggressive expansion into the South China Sea and the Russian invasion. (Ardern, along with over one hundred members of her government, were banned from visiting Russia after New Zealand imposed sanctions on the country in the wake of the invasion.) Domestically, Ardern's administration faced growing economic challenges, including rising inflation.

On January 19, 2023, Ardern unexpectedly announced that she was stepping down from the premiership. She cited burnout as the primary reason behind that decision, stating that five years in the position had left her without 'enough in the tank to do [the job] justice.' She also announced that she would not seek reelection to parliament in the 2023 general election. Ardern officially left office on January 25 after Chris Hipkins was elected to succeed her as Labour Party leader and prime minister.

Impact

Ardern quickly rose through the political ranks to become Labour Party leader and New Zealand prime minister, leading her country through the tumultuous global landscape of the late 2010s and early 2020s. Along the way she attracted considerable media attention around the world, both for her progressive ideals and her status as a trailblazer. As a record-setting young politician and a feminist icon to many, she proved to be a popular and influential figure both in New Zealand and abroad. However, she at times attracted controversy, including for her policies around the COVID-19 pandemic. Ardern's abrupt resignation as prime minister also drew international coverage as a rare example of a world leader stepping down voluntarily without any major political pressure to do so.

Personal Life

Ardern earned media attention for her relationship with radio host and former television presenter Clarke Gayford. The two were reported to be engaged in May 2019 and got married in January 2024. Meanwhile, the couple had a daughter in 2018, making Ardern just the second elected head of state in the world to give birth while in office. When not working Ardern was known to enjoy music, having experience as a part-time DJ.

Bibliography

Anderson, Charles. "Jacinda Ardern Takes New Zealand Labour Party to Record Popularity Levels Ahead of Election." The Telegraph, 27 July 2020, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/27/jacinda-ardern-takes-new-zealand-labour-party-record-popularity/. Accessed 6 June 2024.

Arden, Jacinda. "Michelle Hewitson Interview: Jacinda Ardern." New Zealand Herald. NZME, 26 Apr. 2014. Web. 18 May 2015.

Brockett, Matthew. "New Zealand's Ardern Warns NATO of China's Rising Assertiveness." Bloomberg, 29 Jun. 2022, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-29/new-zealand-s-ardern-warns-nato-of-china-s-rising-assertiveness. Accessed 6 June 2024.

Cave, Damien. "Jacinda Ardern Sold a Drastic Lockdown with Straight Talk and Mom Jokes." The New York Times, 13 Aug. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/world/asia/jacinda-ardern-coronavirus-new-zealand.html. Accessed 6 June 2024.

Cherney, Mike. "How New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern Went from Pandemic Hero to Political Casualty." The Wall Street Journal, 20 Jan. 2023, www.wsj.com/articles/how-new-zealands-jacinda-ardern-went-from-pandemic-hero-to-political-casualty-11674206548. Accessed 6 June 2024.

Griffiths, James. "Jacinda Ardern to Become New Zealand Prime Minister." CNN, 19 Oct. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/asia/new-zealand-election/index.html. Accessed 6 June 2024.

"Jacinda Ardern Marries Partner Clarke Gayford in Private Ceremony." BBC, 13 Jan. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67967235. Accessed 6 June 2024.

Jett, Jennifer, and Tim Stelloh. "New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Says She Will Resign As She Cites Burnout." NBC News, 18 Jan. 2023, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/jacinda-ardern-says-will-resign-new-zealand-prime-minister-rcna66437. Accessed 6 June 2024.