Jacinda Ardern

Early life

Born in Hamilton, New Zealand, Ardern grew up in Morrinsville and Murupara, where her father, Ross Ardern, worked as a police officer. She attended the University of Waikato, graduating in 2001 with a Bachelor of Communication Studies (BCS) in politics and public relations. Ardern was brought into politics by her aunt, a longstanding member of the Labour Party, who recruited a teenaged Ardern to help her with campaigning for New Plymouth MP Harry Duynhoven during his re-election campaign during the 1999 general election.

Ardern joined the Labour Party herself at a young age, and became a senior figure in the Young Labour branch of the party. After graduating from university, she spent time working in the offices of Phil Goff and of Helen Clark as a researcher. She later spent time in London, working as a senior policy advisor to Tony Blair. She was also seconded to the Home Office to help with a review of policing in England and Wales. In early 2008 she won election as the President of the International Union of Socialist Youth, a role which saw her spend time in countries such as Jordan, Israel, Algeria and China.

Member of Parliament

After a high placement on Labour's party list for the 2008 election (her ranking at number 20 virtually guaranteed a seat in parliament), Ardern returned from London to campaign full-time. She also became Labour's candidate for the Waikato electorate. Ardern was unsuccessful in the electorate vote, but was elected as a List MP. Upon election, she became the youngest sitting MP in Parliament, succeeding fellow Labour MP Darren Hughes, and remained the youngest MP until the election of Gareth Hughes on 11 February 2010.

Labour Parliamentary leader Phil Goff appointed Ardern as Labour's spokesperson for Youth Affairs and as associate spokesperson for Justice (Youth Affairs).

Jacinda Ardern has featured as a panel guest on the TVNZ show Back Benches. The episode's panel comprised young members of various political parties. On 19 November 2008, shortly after the 2008 general election, Ardern featured for the first time on this show. She featured again on Wednesday 23 June 2010.

She has also made regular appearances on TVNZ's Breakfast programme as part of the "Young Guns" feature, in which she appeared alongside National MP Simon Bridges.

Ardern contested the high-profile Auckland Central seat for Labour in the 2011 general election, standing against incumbent National MP Nikki Kaye for National and Greens candidate Denise Roche. Despite targeting Green voters to vote strategically for her, she did not succeed in her bid to unseat Kaye, losing by 717 votes. However, she returned to Parliament via the party list. She maintained an office within the electorate while a listed MP based in Auckland Central.

After Goff resigned from the Party leadership following his defeat at the 2011 election, Ardern supported David Shearer over David Cunliffe. She was elevated to the fourth-ranking position in the Shadow Cabinet on 19 December 2011, becoming spokesperson for social development under new leader David Shearer.

Ardern stood again in Auckland Central at the 2014 general election. She again finished second though increased her own vote and reduced Kaye's majority from 717 to 600. Ranked 5th on Labour's list Ardern was still returned to Parliament where she became Shadow Minister of Justice, Children, Small Business and Arts & Culture under new leader Andrew Little.

Mount Albert by-election

Ardern announced that she intended to put forward her name for the Labour nomination for the Mount Albert by-election, to be held in February 2017. When nominations for the Labour Party closed on 12 January 2017, Ardern was the only nominee and was selected unopposed. On 21 January, Ardern participated in the 2017 Women's March, a worldwide protest in opposition to Donald Trump, the newly-inaugurated President of the United States. She was confirmed as Labour's candidate at a meeting on 22 January. Ardern won a landslide victory, gaining 77 percent of votes cast in the preliminary results.

Following her win in the by-election, Ardern was unanimously elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party on 7 March 2017, following the resignation of Annette King who was intending to retire at the next election. Ardern's now vacant list seat was taken by Raymond Huo.

Leader of the Opposition

On 1 August 2017, just seven weeks before the 2017 general election, she assumed the office of Leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand Labour Party following the resignation of Andrew Little, and was unanimously confirmed in an election to choose a new leader at a caucus meeting the same day. At 37, Ardern became the youngest leader of the Labour Party in its history. She is also the second female leader of the party after Helen Clark. According to Ardern, Little had previously approached her on 26 July and said he thought should take over as Labour leader then as he was of the opinion he couldn't turn things around for the party, although Ardern declined telling him to "stick it out".

At her first press conference following her election as leader, she said that the forthcoming election campaign would be one of "relentless positivity". Immediately following her appointment, the party was inundated with donations by the public, reaching NZ$700 per minute at its peak. Ardern's election was followed by a spate of positive coverage from many sections of the media, including international outlets such as CNN, with commentators referring to a 'Jacinda effect' and 'Jacindamania'.

After Ardern's ascension to the leadership Labour rose dramatically in opinion polls, by late August they had risen to 43 per cent in the Colmar Brunton poll (having been 24 per cent under Little's leadership) as well as managing to overtake National in opinion polls for the first time in over a decade.

Political views

Ardern has described herself as a social democrat, a progressive, a republican, and a feminist. She has cited Helen Clark as a political hero. In her parliamentary maiden speech in 2008 Ardern affirmed her support for the welfare state as "a necessary safety net, and a support for those who are unable to support themselves", and has spoken in support of trade unions. In 2017 she opposed the National Party's plans for income tax cuts for high-income earners.

Ardern voted in favour of the 2013 Marriage Equality Bill, a bill which allowed same-sex couples to legally marry in New Zealand and in 2004, she paid $20 to have her name included in a "full page ad in a major New Zealand newspaper supporting the Civil Union Bill."

Ardern supports the liberalization of abortion laws and advocates removing abortion from the Crimes Act of 1961. Ardern supports student loans being kept interest-free and has also expressed interest in the area of mental health. Ardern also took strong objection to the idea that women should have to tell their employer about their plans to take maternity leave in the future.

Ardern believes that the retention or abolishment of Māori electorates should be decided by Māori, stating "[Māori] have not raised the need for those seats to go, so why would we ask the question?". She supports compulsory teaching of the Māori language in schools.

In August 2017 Ardern advocated a lower rate of immigration to New Zealand, suggesting a drop of around 20,000–30,000. Calling it an "infrastructure issue", she has argued "there hasn't been enough planning about population growth, we haven't necessarily targeted our skill shortages properly...". However, she wants to increase the intake of refugees.

Ardern acknowledges global warming. She has called for carbon emission reduction targets to be enshrined in New Zealand law.

In September 2017, Ardern said she wanted New Zealand to have a debate on removing the monarch of New Zealand as its head of state.

Personal life

Her boyfriend is television presenter Clarke Gayford. Ardern was raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) but left the church in 2005 because it conflicted with her personal views, in particular her support for gay rights. She is not religious and in January 2017 said she was an agnostic.