Jacinda Ardern
Encyclopedia
Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern (b. 26 July 1980) is a politician from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. A member of the Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

, she was elected as a list MP at the 2008 general election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...

.

Professional life

Ardern has spent time in London, working as a senior policy advisor. In early 2008 she was elected as the President of the International Union of Socialist Youth
International Union of Socialist Youth
The International Union of Socialist Youth encompasses socialist, social democratic and Labour Party youth organizations from more than 100 states of the world...


Member of Parliament

After being placing high on Labour's party list for the 2008 election (at number 20 she was virtually guaranteed a seat in Parliament) she returned from London to campaign full time. She was selected as the Party's candidate for the Waikato electorate
Waikato (New Zealand electorate)
rightWaikato is the name of a current electorate in the New Zealand Parliament from 2006; which earlier existed for two periods, 1871 to 1960 and 1969 to 1996 when MMP was introduced....

.

Ardern was appointed Labour's spokesperson for Youth Affairs, and associate spokesperson for Justice (Youth Affairs) by Labour leader Phil Goff
Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff is the current Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. During the Fifth Labour Government, he served in a number of ministerial portfolios, including Minister of Defence of New Zealand, Minister of Corrections, Minister of Foreign Affairs and...

.

Jacinda Ardern has twice featured as a panel guest on the TVNZ
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....

 show Back Benches
Back Benches
Back Benches is a New Zealand political interview show, presented by Wallace Chapman and Damian Christie. It is filmed at the 'Backbencher' pub across the road from Parliament Buildings in Wellington, at 9.10 pm Wednesday nights , and reshown on Thursday mornings, Friday nights, and Saturday mornings...

. The episode's panel was all young members of the political parties. On 19 November 2008, shortly after the 2008 general election, Ardern featured for her first time on this show. She featured again on Wednesday 23 June 2010,shortly after the shadow cabinet reshuffle, in which Ardern had no portfolio change.

She has also made regular appearances on TVNZ
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....

's Breakfast
Breakfast (New Zealand Television Programme)
Breakfast , is a New Zealand morning news and talk show airing weekday mornings on TV ONE, produced by ONE News. Debuting on 11 August 1997, it was the first of its genre in New Zealand. Originally a two hour show, it has expanded to include a Saturday edition...

 programme as part of the 'Young Guns' feature in which she appeared alongside National MP Simon Bridges
Simon Bridges
Simon Bridges is a New Zealand politician and former District and High Court Crown prosecutor. Bridges is currently the representative for the electorate of Tauranga in the 49th New Zealand Parliament, as a member of the National Party.Bridges currently lives in Mount Maunganui with his wife,...

.

Ardern contested the Auckland Central
Auckland Central
Auckland Central is a New Zealand electoral division returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. Its current representative is Nikki Kaye, a member of the National Party; she has represented the seat since 2008....

 seat for Labour at the November 2011 general election
New Zealand general election, 2011
The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 51 from party...

, against Nikki Kaye
Nikki Kaye
Nicola Laura Kaye is the member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Auckland Central electorate, having defeated incumbent Labour MP Judith Tizard in the 2008 election.-Early life:...

 for National, incumbent since 2008, and Greens
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...

 candidate Denise Roche
Denise Roche
Denise Roche is a New Zealand politician who is a member of the Waiheke Local Board and the New Zealand House of Representatives, where she represents the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.-Early life:...

.

External links

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