Jacinda Ardern

Jacinda Ardern is the current Prime Minister of New Zealand and a politician. She was elected to office in October 2017 and is also the current leader of the country’s Labour Party. She became the world’s youngest female head of government when she was just 37, and the second female head of government to give birth while in office (in 2018).

Born on July 26, 1980 in Hamilton, New Zealand, Jacinda is a Leo. Her two middle names are Kate and Laurell.

Jacinda Ardern – Her Religion

Jacinda was raised as a Mormon. She followed the Mormon faith until her mid-twenties when she broke away as a result of the church’s position on gay rights.

“I lived in a flat with three gay friends and I was still going to church every so often and I just remember thinking ‘this is really inconsistent – I’m either doing a disservice to the church or my friends’. Because how could I subscribe to a religion that just didn’t account for them?” Jacinda explained. (1)

At the present time she is an agnostic. “I have a real respect for people who have religion as a foundation in their lives. And I respect people who don’t. I’m agnostic. I don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure it out. I just think people should be free to have their personal beliefs and not be persecuted for it, whether they be atheist or staunch church members.” (1)

She also feels strongly against churches that impose heavy tithing. (1)

Jacinda Ardern – Her Political Views

Jacinda is the leader of New Zealand’s Labour Party. As such, the party holds political views that are described as being slightly left of being in the center. They have progressive beliefs and usually ally with working class values, which is often called socialist democratic.

Ardern calls herself a republican and wants New Zealand to remove itself from the British monachy. (2)

She also advocates to lower the amount of immigrants entering New Zealand. “New Zealand has been built off the back of support from those who have migrated to New Zealand and made it their home, and that will continue to be the case,” Ardern said. “Our concern is that there hasn’t been enough planning about population growth, we haven’t necessarily targeted our skill shortages properly, and that means Auckland has borne the brunt of a lot of that growth.” (3)

Sources:

1: New Zealand Herald

2: The Times

3: Radio New Zealand

Photo by Governor-General New Zealand. Licensed under Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 Generic.

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