Former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern on projecting “A Different Kind of Power”

These days, at her local coffee shop near Boston, Jacinda Ardern can be just another customer. “I don’t put my name on the order; it’s too complicated!” she laughed.

I asked, “When you order coffee here, do people start talking politics with you?”

“No. Not at all,” Ardern replied. “In fact, the guy behind the counter said to me, ‘Ah, you are really familiar. Oh, I know: Toni Collette!'”

That’s a moment that would never happen in New Zealand, where Ardern became the world’s youngest female head of government when she was just 37 years old. Now 44, former Prime Minister Ardern has been living in the U.S. since she left office two years ago. She is serving as a fellow at Harvard University, and has written a new book, “A Different Kind of Power” (to be published June 3 by Crown).

Of the title, she says, “I think, you know, there are different ways to lead. But I hope you also see that some of those character traits that we perhaps bring to it that we might believe to be weaknesses – imposter syndrome, or even empathy – actually are incredible strengths.”

Ardern says her story is about finding her voice in New Zealand, a small nation of about five million people. “I never, ever saw myself becoming prime minister, ever,” she said.

In fact, her father told Ardern that she was too “thin-skinned” for politics.

Was he right? “He was absolutely right!” she laughed. “But I guess where I corrected him is, your sensitivity is your empathy. And goodness, don’t we need a bit more of that?”

In New Zealand, the answer was yes. Ahead of the 2017 election, Ardern suddenly became the leader of her country’s left-leaning Labour Party. Weeks after winning, she made an announcement: she was pregnant. Her journey, alongside her then-partner, now-husband, Clarke, soon won her global attention.

Was she comfortable with the symbolism of her role? Ardern said, “I realized the importance of it when I first received a letter from someone on their way to work to tell their boss that they were having a baby, and they felt nervous about their boss’ view of whether they could do their job When she heard that I was pregnant, and that gave her a level of confidence, you know, I felt like I also needed to show I could do the job and be a mother.”

But those joyful early days were followed by challenges. In 2019, mass shootings targeting Muslims in Christchurch left more than 50 dead – a crucible for New Zealand, and a call to action for its leader: a ban on semi-automatic weapons.

I asked, “Why do you believe you and your colleagues in New Zealand were able to achieve gun control reform in the wake of a horrific mass shooting, but so often here in the United States such legislative changes have been hard to get?”

“I can’t speak to the U.S. experience,” Ardern replied, “but if we really wanted to say, ‘We don’t ever want this to happen again,’ we needed to demonstrate what we were doing to make that a reality.”

But even after she won another election, things weren’t easy. As the pandemic wore on, tensions flared over her government’s COVID policies. In 2023, when she stunned many by deciding to resign, she wore her heart on her sleeve, telling Parliament: “You can be a nerd, a cryer, a hugger, you can be all of these things, and not only can you be here, you can lead, just like me.”

Though she has left office, she has not stopped keeping a close eye on our turbulent ties. Asked what she makes of President Trump and his decisions on trade and foreign policy, Ardern said, “You know, we are seeing people experience deep financial insecurity, and that has to be addressed by political leaders. But I continue to hold that ideas of isolation or protectionism or closing ourselves off to remedy the issue actually doesn’t remedy it in the long term, and has a long-term negative impact for some of the collective issues we need to address as a global community.”

For now, Ardern is not angling to jump back into politics, but she is settling into her new normal – that is, “Being just a normal family.”

And when she is asked for advice – in a Harvard classroom, or from a world leader – Jacinda Ardern tells them to be kind: “That principle of kindness, it’s something we teach our kids. Why shouldn’t we role model that in the way that we conduct ourselves in politics? And secondly, if you’re putting people at the center of what you’re doing, it’s a reminder that, actually, the act of being in politics is an act of public service as well. And I think voters need to see more of that.”

      
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Story produced by Sara Kugel. Editor: Joseph Frandino.