“It takes courage and strength to be an empathetic leader and I’m very proudly an empathetic and compassionate leader.”
Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern
The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern served as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Assuming office at just 37, Ms Ardern championed an inclusive and empathetic leadership style that made bold policy change and successfully guided her nation through unprecedented global and domestic challenges.
Ms Ardern confronted significant challenges while in office, including a live-streamed domestic terror attack targeting New Zealand’s Muslim community, a volcanic eruption, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding with a people-first approach grounded in kindness, New Zealand achieved one of the lowest losses of life during the pandemic among developed nations, instituted a ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons, and created the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Violent Extremism Online.
She is a champion of women's empowerment, and the second woman in history to give birth while leading a country. During her administration New Zealand achieved a historic 50 percent representation of women in Parliament, and on government appointed boards. Her government also decriminalized abortion, strengthened pay equity laws, and extended paid parental leave to six months. After leaving office, she established the Matariki Fund which supports projects that improve the lives of women and girls.
Ms Ardern continues to hold roles that allow her to be useful, serving as; a Distinguished Fellow of the World Leaders Circle at Oxford University; Patron of the Christchurch Call; Member of the LawZero Board of Governors. She remains an active advocate for climate action, serving as COP30 Special Envoy for Oceania, and trustee of The Earthshot Prize.
She also leads ‘Field’, a Fellowship programme for Empathetic Leadership in politics which she founded in 2024, and is the author of the international bestseller “A Different Kind of Power”.
