Articles by "Jacinda Ardern"
Auckland, Jun 21: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth to a baby girl in an Auckland hospital today, becoming only the second world leader to do so while in office.
It was the first child for the 37-year-old and her 40-year-old partner Clarke Gayford, with the new arrival weighing in at 3.3 kilogrammes (7.3 pounds).
"I'm sure we're going through all of the emotions new parents go through, but at the same time feeling so grateful for all the kindness and best wishes from so many people. Thank you," Ardern said.
She added on Instagram that the baby was healthy and doing well.
"We're all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital." The charismatic Ardern follows Pakistan's prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990 as the only women in recorded history to give birth while in power, but she downplayed the significance.
"Lots of people juggle a lot of things in their personal and private lives, and I'm not unusual in that. Plenty of women have multitasked before me, and I want to acknowledge that," she said when revealing the pregnancy in January.
The birth capped an eventful year for Ardern who became prime minister last October, three months after inheriting the leadership of the Labour Party when it was languishing in the polls.
When no party won sufficient support in the election to form a government, she was anointed prime minister by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, the kingmaker in a three-party coalition also involving the Greens.
Peters, who became Ardern's deputy, is now acting prime minister while she takes six weeks maternity leave, although she will continue to be consulted on significant issues.
New Zealand opposition leader Simon Bridges offered congratulations.
"Being parents is a joy and a privilege and we are sure your new arrival will fill your lives with all the happiness our children have ours," he said.
Ardern, who refused to discuss plans for motherhood during the election campaign, waited until January to reveal on Facebook she had conceived and was going to be "prime minister and a mum".
Her plans for a family had sparked a sexism row during the election when a television host quizzed her on the issue, saying voters had a right to know before they cast their ballots.
She rejected the line of questioning as "unacceptable", saying pregnancy and child rearing should not hinder women's opportunities in the workplace.
"It is a woman's decision about when they choose to have children and it should not predetermine whether or not they are given a job or have job opportunities," she said then.
Pakistan's Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007, gave birth in January 1990 to her daughter Bakhtawar who now describes herself on Twitter as "1st child born to a sitting female Prime Minister".
Ardern was due on June 17 and had said she did not want the pregnancy to drag on and was prepared to be induced if necessary.
The prime minister and Gayford, who hosts a television fishing show, had known the sex of the baby for several months but decided to keep it secret from the public.(AFP)
Wellington,
Jan 19: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that she
is pregnant, according to a BBC News report on Friday.
Ms Ardern said she and her partner, Clarke Gayford, were
expecting their child in June, after which she planned to take a six-week break.
"And we thought 2017 was a big year!" she wrote on
Instagram.
Ms Ardern, 37, became New Zealand's youngest prime minister
since 1856 when she formed a centre-left coalition in October.
She was flooded with support after making the announcement on
her social media profiles on Friday.
Ms Ardern's Labour Party came second in September's election,
where no party was able to secure a majority.
She formed a government with the backing of Winston Peters,
leader of the small New Zealand First party.
"As is the case when I am overseas, Mr Peters will act
as prime minister, working with my office while staying in touch with me,"
Ms Ardern said in a statement reported by the New Zealand Herald on Friday.
"I fully intend to be contactable and available
throughout the six-week period when needed."
Ms Ardern said she discovered her pregnancy only six days
before learning she would be prime minister, and it was "100 per cent a
surprise".
"I am not the first woman to multi-task. I am not the
first woman to work and have a baby - there are many women who have done this
before," she said.
Mr Gayford would be a "stay-at-home" dad, she added.
Two of New Zealand's former prime ministers were among the
first to offer congratulations. UNI
Manila,
Nov 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suggested for deepening of
bilateral relations with New Zealand especially in the field of renewable
energy and related fields even as Mr Modi and his counterpart Jacinda Ardern
invited each other to visit respective countries.
"Prime Minister (Modi) suggested deepening cooperation in the renewable
energy sector and related fields and both the Prime Ministers, as in our Prime
Minister and the Prime Minister of New Zealand invited each other to visit
their respective countries (during their one-on-one meeting here on
Tuesday)," a senior official in the Indian External Affairs Ministry said
here. Secretary East, in the External Affairs Ministry, Preeti Saran told reporters
here on Tuesday that the deliberations between the two leaders were for the
first time. "This is the first opportunity for our Prime Minister to meet with the new
Prime Minister of New Zealand so our Prime Minister very warmly congratulated
her for her election," she said. Ms Saran further said Mr Modi also mentioned the importance of the Indian
diaspora’s presence in New Zealand and the importance of greater collaboration
especially the need for New Zealand becoming an "important
destination" for Bollywood - film shooting. "Already Indian cinema has been an important source of encouraging tourism
from India to New Zealand and that was reiterated," Ms Saran said, adding
that Mr Modi recalled that India's second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan
was given to Edmund Hillary -- the famous mountainer. Hillary has been a "household name in India", she said. "These are people to people contacts. Of course the Indian students
community issue was taken up in the sense that yes more self-financed because
New Zealand is a democracy. It is an English speaking country, it had the
potential, like several other countries, to attract more Indian students into
New Zealand," Ms Saran said. During deliberations, Mr Modi also spoke about the popular game of cricket --
another sector that sees lot of mutual interests. UNI
