New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced unexpectedly that she will not seek reelection, meaning her term will end Feb. 7.
“I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice,” she said, per The New York Times. “It is that simple.”
There is not an obvious replacement for the leadership role just yet.
What will Jacinda Ardern and her administration be remembered by?
The leader first made political waves when she was elected at 37 years old, making her the youngest female top country leader in the world at the time, according to The Guardian.
COVID-19 response:
In 2020, she was elected for a second term. One of the most memorable focuses for her presidency will likely be her administration’s hard-line approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Zealand’s approach to the pandemic was “go hard and go early,” implementing strict border management and severe domestic lockdowns, attempting to keep the virus out of the country entirely, CNN reported.
Once COVID-19 vaccines became available, Ardern executed strict vaccine mandates for residents to follow in order to spend time in public places.
“She became a totem,” Richard Shaw, a politics professor at Massey University, told The New York Times. “She became the personification of a particular response to the pandemic, which people in the far-flung margins of the internet and the not so far-flung margins used against her.”
Gun law reforms:
In 2019, a gunman murdered 51 people at two Christchurch mosques, “espousing anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant hatred” leading to the killings, per the Times. She responded to the gun violence within one week with temporary gun purchase restrictions and soon after passed a law that would ban nearly all semiautomatic weapons.
Deadly White Island volcanic eruption:
Her time as a leader was fraught with crises largely outside her control, such as a global pandemic, a violent terrorist attack and a natural crisis in the deadly White Island volcanic eruption.
On Dec. 9, 2019, a volcano erupted unexpectedly on White Island, killing 22 people and injuring the other 25 people who survived the eruption. The government responded to the geological event by filing charges against operators on the island, citing that while the eruption was a shock, it was not considered “unforeseeable” based on seismic data, NPR reported.
Highly popular campaign:
Ardern was formerly a DJ and she attracted huge crowds to her rallies on the campaign trail, garnering so much attention that her popularity received the term “Jacindamania.” She was featured on the covers of Vogue and Time magazine and was interviewed by “Late Show” show host Stephen Colbert leading up to her election, according to CNN.
Political kindness approach:
She focused on a softer approach to global relations, compared to intimidation and vamping that can sometimes come from top leaders. The Guardian reported that she hopes to be remembered “as someone who always tried to be kind.”
World leader and new mother:
During her presidency, she gave birth to her daughter, Neve, and brought her infant to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2018. She became the “second world leader to give birth while holding office,” per The Associated Press.
What are people saying about Jacinda Ardern?
Shortly after the mosque attacks in 2019, Ardern met with President Russell M. Nelson, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to talk about a donation the church was giving to the mosques that were attacked.
“She’s courageous,” President Nelson told the Deseret News. “The world will discover they’ve got a real leader here. It’s an unlikely scenario, a young mother leading a great nation, a peacemaker, a policymaker, a consensus-builder. We’re very confident she’ll have a great future.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised her leadership in a tweet and touted his gratitude for their friendship.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau penned a thank you to her leadership, saying, “The difference you have made is immeasurable.”
James Shaw, New Zealand minister for climate change, tweeted: “It’s been a privilege to work alongside Jacinda Ardern over the last five years of our government. She is one of the most dedicated, authentic, values-driven people I have had the pleasure of knowing.”