The Power of Kindness

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on mothers in positions of power and ...

- Julia Rothhaas

SHE RULES OUT a return to politics. And that is despite the fact that Jacinda Ardern was just 42 years old when she resigned as Prime Minister of New Zealand in January 2023, and was not forced out of office by scandal. Today, the woman who made history as the world's youngest head of government and became a mother while in office teaches at Harvard University in the US.

Question: When you became Prime Minister of New Zealand in 2017 at the age of 37, a veritable 'Jacinda- mania' broke out, a crazy fuss about you. Did you enjoy the hype?

JACINDA ARDERN: On the contrary, I found it very uncom- fortable. Because it created crazy expectations of me. Let's not kid ourselves: we are all fallible. I found it par- ticularly uncomfortable because such excitement does not fit in with our New Zealand culture at all. You were even celebrated when you resigned as prime minister in early 2023. At the time, you said with tears in your eyes that you “didn’t have enough left in the tank.” The New Statesman wrote: “If only all heads of state would step down like this.”

You were even celebrated when you resigned as prime minister in early 2023. At the time, you said with tears in your eyes that you "didn't have enough left in the tank." The New Statesman wrote: "If only all heads of state would step down like this."