What you want to know about the Prime Minister of New Zealand
Jacinda Ardern (39) has been the Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2017. But what do we actually know about her, besides the fact that she did a little dance in her living room this week to celebrate that her country was the first in the world to be completely free of coronavirus?
The tactic of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the coronavirus crisis is: prevention is better than cure. Herd immunity was not her goal, but to ensure that as few people as possible would become infected. Her method has been praised by the whole world and it seems to be working.
But, what do we actually know about the Prime Minister of New Zealand?
1. Jacinda Ardern has cut her salary by twenty percent out of solidarity with the people who are struggling due to the coronavirus crisis. A part of the cabinet followed her example.
2. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is quite active on Facebook, even in the current crisis this is her way of reaching out to the people of New Zealand.
3. Cat Paddles was until 2017 the most famous pet of New Zealand. The premier's family member was then known as First Cat. Unfortunately, Paddles is no more. The cat became famous for making a hell of a noise when Ardern was about to speak to Trump via phone. What a wise cat. Paddles also had over 11,000 loyal followers on Twitter.
4. Ardern is a politician for the social democratic Labour Party. She became a member at the age of seventeen. She also once worked as a political advisor for then British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Jacinda Ardern is known for her outspoken views on sexism and racism.
5. Ardern is the second prime minister in the world to give birth while in office, her daughter Neve Te Aroha. Jacinda Ardern returned to work after six weeks. Her fiancé, TV presenter Clarke Gayford, stayed home to care for their daughter. After three months, the prime minister took her daughter to the United Nations General Assembly, intending to normalize it.
6. She chooses never to speak the name of the perpetrator of the mosque attack in Christchurch in which 51 people were murdered, precisely because he sought attention with his attack, she does not want to give him that. Ardern: “He will be nameless when I speak.” What a strong stance.
7. The prime minister has quite a few youngest and firsts to her name. For example, she was the youngest ever in the New Zealand parliament and also the youngest prime minister in 150 years of the country.
8. Soon every student in New Zealand will be able to use free tampons and sanitary pads at school. A global problem that her party is tackling on such a large scale for the first time. By the way, Ardern considered herself an ‘acceptable nerd’ in high school, and those are her own words.
9. She grew up in a family with a Mormon faith. Her father was a police officer and her mother a school caterer. She distanced herself from the faith because it did not align with her personal beliefs.
10. The prime minister invests in the happiness of the population by investing in mental health to reduce the number of suicides.
11. She is not fazed by an earthquake more or less, as can be seen in a clip that recently went viral. Ardern remained as good as unmoved and reassured the interviewer. By the way, she is the first prime minister to have direct contact with the press, instead of letting it go through a spokesperson.
