Jacinda Aredern: Yes, I Can Be Prime Minister And A Mother

She’s 37, having a baby and one of the youngest leaders in the world today. Juliet Rieden meets the extraordinary New Zealand Prime Minister who is shattering glass ceilings at an inspiring rate, even with morning sickness.

- Juliet Rieden

When Jacinda Ardern announced her pregnancy last month, it sparked global debate. How could the new Prime Minister of New Zealand have a baby and still run the country? But the gutsy, likeable, keenly principled politician was quick to silence her critics. “I am not the first woman to multi-task! I am not the first woman to work and have a baby. I know these are special circumstances, but there are many women who have done this well before I have,” she quipped, instinctively sweeping aside centuries of sexism with a mere flick of the wrist.

What’s more, she added, it would be her partner, Clarke Gayford, the 40-year-old TV host of an increasingly popular fishing show, who would be putting his day job on hold to hunker down into stay-at-home-dad role, with Jacinda taking just six weeks out. “After that I’ll be coming back on deck. And Dad will be taking over duties,” she said with a cheeky smile, clearly enjoying the gasps from traditionalists.

But behind that smart, confident, generation Y exterior, I suspect, is a lot of furious paddling. This is Jacinda’s first pregnancy and she tells me she was just as shocked as everyone else by its timing. “We’d been told we’d struggle to have kids without help, so it was a genuine surprise, but an exciting one,” she shares as we discuss the parameters of what will be a challenging year for the couple. “I was really conscious I needed to balance making sure I had recovered enough with baby, while also needing to fulfil the job I’ve been elected to do as Prime Minister.” 

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