The rise of Jacinda Ardern

The young Labour party leader - she turned 37 last month - and Auckland MP has been tipped in the past as a future leader.

After a stint as deputy, she was unanimously elected leader - with Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis as her deputy - following a tumultous few days ending with Andrew Little stepping down. So, who is she? A sometime DJ, who was once a Mormon, and self-described ‘nerd’ unafraid to poke fun at herself for the cameras, who holds the Mt Albert parliamentary seat that was Helen Clark’s for three terms.

Ms Ardern was born in Hamilton and spent time growing up in Murupara, a small town in rural Bay of Plenty with a reputation as a base for the Tribesmen gang - a reputation the small community has been trying to shake off in recent years.

Growing up in small-town New Zealand was formative. She grafted, working for Phil Goff and Helen Clark in Wellington, travelling overseas for a stint in London, where she worked as a policy adviser in the UK Cabinet Office, and served as president of the International Union of Socialist Youth.

In her first election, in 2008, she was unsuccessful as the candidate in Waikato, but got voted in via the party list, making her the youngest sitting MP.

She won a landslide victory in the Mt Albert by-election at the start of the year, with 77 percent of the vote, and when Annette King resigned as deputy in March, Ms Ardern was unanimously elected to the role. RNZI