Jacinda Ardern was born in Hamilton, New Zealand. She was raised in the small town of Morrinsville, which is located in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. She attended Morrinsville College, a state secondary school, before going on to study at the University of Waikato, also located in the Waikato region.
Before entering politics, Jacinda Ardern worked as a researcher and policy advisor for the Labour Party. She also worked as a political advisor for the Prime Minister Helen Clark from 2006 to 2008. Before that, she had worked as a researcher for Phil Goff, who was then the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Additionally, she has worked as a waitress, a salesperson at a clothing store, and a youth worker.
Jacinda Ardern has been the Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2017. She is a member of the Labour Party and the Leader of the Labour Party since 2017. Ardern was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives as a list MP in 2008, and has represented the Mount Albert electorate since March 2017. She was appointed as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in March 2017, and became Leader following the resignation of Andrew Little.
In the 2017 general election, Ardern led the Labour Party to a historic victory, becoming the youngest female head of government in the world at the age of 37. She has since been re-elected as Prime Minister in the 2020 general election.