For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Two years after her shock resignation, former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced her upcoming memoir which she hopes will help “anyone who ever doubted themselves”.
Described as her “unfiltered journey”, the book “A Different Kind of Power” reveals things that have not been shared before and her one guiding principle throughout her time in office, she said on her Instagram account.
Ms Ardern, who became the world’s youngest woman head of government when she was elected prime minister in 2017, aged 37, sent a jolt around the world in 2023 announcing her decision to not stand for re-election.
In an emotional and tearful address, she said “I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice”.
Ms Ardern said kindness was her guiding principle even though some people thought it was sentimental and naïve.
“Some people thought kindness was sentimental, soft. A bit naive, even. I knew this. But I also knew they were wrong,” Ms Ardern said in a statement.
“Kindness has a power and strength that almost nothing else on this planet has. I’d seen kindness do extraordinary things – I’d seen it give people hope, I’d seen it change minds, and transform lives. Kindness. This was my guiding principle, and it would be the trait with which I would try to lead, no matter what lay ahead.”
She said she hoped the memoir, which will be released in June, will strike a chord with people who want to lead but have self-doubt.
“For anyone who has ever doubted themselves, I really hope there is something in it for them,” she said.
In a video message announcing the release, she said: “I’ve tried to put on a page how it feels to lead – all the highs and lows, the parts of the job people don’t often see, and the many lessons I learned along the way.”
She said she shared a manuscript of the book and received feedback that the contents were “surprising”.
She said: “I have written about things that I haven’t shared before, but I’ve also tried to share how it feels to lead, especially if you’re surprised to find yourself in leadership.”
Just two years after winning a leader for her Labour Party which was widely expected to lose, Ms Ardern was praised for her compassionate response to the 2019 terrorist attacks against two mosques in Christchurch.
She was initially praised for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic but as the virus began spreading by 2023 she faced a growing opposition to her zero-tolerance policy of mandates and other restrictions which had helped keep the pandemic out of New Zealand.
On the heels of her resignation, she announced she will temporarily join Harvard University after being appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School.
In June 2023, she was made a Dame Grand Companion, the second-highest honor in New Zealand, as part of King Charles III’s Birthday Honors.
Crown, a division of Penguin Random House, said the book was “deeply personal and inspiring memoir” that offers “Ardern’s unfiltered journey, from tenacious girl in small-town New Zealand to a trailblazing world leader who became the world’s youngest female head of government, and only the second in history to give birth while in office”.
“Ardern changed the world’s expectations of what a global leader can be. With remarkable candor, she shares the pivotal moments that defined her leadership and – for the first time – the details behind her decision to step down during her sixth year as Prime Minister,” Crown announced.
Source: independent.co.uk
