New Leadership: Jacinda Ardern Quiz

Answer: 1980

Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern, was born on July 26, 1980, in Hamilton, on the North island of New Zealand. She was the second of two daughters. Her father was a law-enforcement officer who, in 2014, became the New Zealand government's high commissioner to the island of Niue. (An internally self-governing island state in free association with New Zealand). Miss Ardern attended Morrinsville College, a state secondary school located in Morrinsville, Waikato. She worked part time in a local fish and chip shop whilst she studied. She matriculated to the University of Waikato in 1999 where she graduated in 2001 with the degree: Bachelor of Communication Studies in politics and public relations.

When she became Prime Minister in 2017 she was 37 years 92 days old. Only Edward Stafford, New Zealand's third Prime minister was younger being 37 years and forty days when first elected in 1856.

Answer: Helen Clark

Jacinda Arden joined the New Zealand Labour Party at 17 and participated in the re-election campaign of Harry Duynhoven, a Labour member of parliament in the New Plymouth area. After she graduated became a researcher for Labour MP, Phil Goff, which in turn led to a position on the staff of Prime Minister Helen Clark. Ms Clark was the second woman to hold this position (and the first elected to this position).

She had defeated New Zealand's first female prime minister Jenny Shipley (National Party) in the 1999 election. Ms Clark was Ms Ardern's political hero and mentor.

Answer: Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister

It appears that an 'overseas experience' is seen as a rite of passage for young New Zealand adults. Jacinda Ardern was no exception. She worked for 30 months in the cabinet office of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Her position was an associate director in a policy making unit.

In this position, she had the responsibility for increasing communication methods in which local government authorities interact with small business. In 2007 she was elected president of the International Union of Socialist Youth.

This broadened her approach to different cultures with travel to Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, China and India.

Answer: She was elected as a "list" candidate in NZ's mixed member proportional election system

Under New Zealand's mixed member proportional (MMP) election system, each voter receives two votes - one to decide the election of their single-seat electorate, and one for a political party. Seats in New Zealand's only House are filled firstly by the successful electorate candidates, and secondly, by party candidates based on the percentage of nationwide votes that each party received. New Zealand elects 65 people from electorates, seven from Maori seats and 49 from the "list".

In the 2008 election, Jacinda Ardern was placed 20th on the Labour Party listed which virtually guaranteed her election should she not be elected to the electorate for which she was standing.

Answer: Youth Affairs and associate spokesperson for Justice (Youth Affairs)

When elected at age 28, Ms Ardern entered the House of Representatives as its youngest member, a title she would hold until 2010 with the election of Gareth Hughes, another Labour member. As spokesperson for Youth Affairs and as associate spokesperson for Justice (Youth Affairs), Ms Ardern made herself very well known as a competent politician.

This was in no way hindered by regular appearances on TVNZ's "Breakfast" programme as part of the "Young Guns" with National MP (and future National leader) Simon Bridges.

In her maiden speech she proposed the introduction of compulsory education in the Maori language for all New Zealand schools and she criticised the New Zealand (National Party) government for its "shameful" response to climate change.

Answer: She was born into a Mormon family. Mormons opposed same sex marriage and homosexual practices.

Ms Ardern renounced her faith in her childhood Mormon faith when she was in her early twenties in favour of equal rights for LGBT people. The Mormon church has deep-seated conservative views towards LGBT rights. In an interview with Lydia Smith of "The Independent" in 2017, she said: "For a lot of years, I put it to the back of my mind. I think it was too unsettling." "If something like religion is part of your foundation, and then suddenly you start questioning that - it's quite a confronting thing to deal with. Even before the Civil Union Bill came up, I lived in a flat with three gay friends and I was still going to church every so often and I just remember thinking 'this is really inconsistent - I'm either doing a disservice to the church or my friends'. Because how could I subscribe to a religion that just didn't account for them?"

Answer: She was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party

Having being re-elected from the list in 2011, (she lost the electorate seat of Auckland Central by 717 votes), she was promoted to the fourth-ranking position in the Shadow Cabinet and became the spokesperson for social development. After the 2014 election, still being in opposition, she became Shadow spokesperson for Justice, Children, Small Business, and Arts & Culture, working for new leader Andrew Little.

The timeline in 2017 is very important:
21 January. She was the only labour nominee and was selected unopposed in the Mount Albert by-election.
25 January. Elected to the seat.
1 February. Prime Minister Bill English announced the election would be held on 23 September 2017.
7 March. Ms Ardern elected unanimously as deputy leader of the Labour Party.
1 August (7 weeks to election). Andrew Little resigns as leader. Labour Party confirm Ms Ardern as Leader
25 September. Labour gain 14 seats in election to reach 46 seats from 120. Formed a coalition with New Zealand First and hence government. Jacinda Ardern was the new Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Answer: True

On 19 January, 2018, Ms Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford, a TV presenter, announced that they were expecting their first child in June. This was the first time a New Zealand prime minister was pregnant whilst in office. On 21 June, their daughter Neve Te Aroha was born. Thus Jacinda Ardern become only the second elected head of government to give birth while in office.

Benazir Bhutto was the first, in January 1990 (prime minister of Pakistan, Dec 1988 to Aug 1990 and again Oct 1993 to Nov 1996).

Answer: Christchurch mosque shootings

Ms Ardern has worked tirelessly on domestic issues such as child poverty and vulnerability, improving the welfare system and increase social housing availability. In foreign affairs, she met with Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull to improve relations between the two countries. In December 2017, Ms Ardern demonstrated support for the UN resolution which criticised US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. She stated "that we saw by international actors like the United States recently ... took us backwards, not forwards". She has raised, on an international stage the issues of human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in China and raised grave concerns over the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

However it was in March, 2019 that the world took notice of Ms Ardern when she led her country to comfort her countrymen after she described one of New Zealand's "darkest days,' after an attack on two mosques in Christchurch where at least 50 people died. The Australian gunman had travelled to New Zealand to specifically to undertake the attacks as he believed that New Zealand suffered from "mass immigration", as did Australia, but he would not have been able to obtain the assault rifles and shotguns he used in the NZ attack in Australia.
Whilst Ms Ardern was jolted by the mass immigration motive, she addressed the country, "We were not a target because we are a safe harbour for those who hate. We were not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism, because we are an enclave for extremism. We were chosen for the very fact that we are none of these things-because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those who share our values, refuge for those who need it".

Ms Ardern travelled to Christchurch to comfort victims and their families. She moved swiftly to change to New Zealand's gun laws. On 10 April 2019, less than one month after the attack, the "New York Times" reported "the New Zealand Parliament passed a law that bans most semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles, parts that convert guns into semiautomatic guns, and higher capacity magazines".

Answer: First major Western country to eradicate COVID-19

Ms Ardern and her government moved swiftly and decisively to counter-act the COVID-19 epidemic. On 2nd February, three days after WHO declared the Coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency, New Zealand closed its borders to arrivals from China. On 16th March, Ms Ardern announced that New Zealand's "borders would be closed to all non-citizens and non-permanent residents, after 11:59 pm on 20th March". She subsequently announced that New Zealand would move to a nationwide lockdown, at midnight on 25th March. She was criticised by some international actors, but after the first wave of the pandemic, New Zealand had eliminated the virus for 100 days before the first community-acquired cases became apparent.

Anna Fifield of "The Washington Post" wrote on 7 April 2020 that her regular use of interviews, press conferences and social media were a "masterclass in crisis communication". Ms Ardern took her place as one of the world's great leaders.