Names and faces
■ Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced last week that she is writing a book, with the focus more on leadership than politics. In an Instagram post, Ardern said she is often asked whether she will write about her five years as New Zealand’s leader. “At first, my answer was no. I didn’t want to write a book that hauled over the internal politics of the last five years, and then someone convinced me that I didn’t have to,” Ardern said. “That maybe it might be worth expanding on some of [the] things I talked about in my valedictory instead — like the idea you can be your own kind of leader and still make a difference. And so that’s what I’m planning to do.” Ardern said she had no publication date. “But I hope when it’s done, it’s the kind of book that would have made a difference to my 14-year-old self,” she said. Just 37 when she became prime minister in 2017, Ardern was seen as a global icon of the left. She shocked New Zealanders in January when she said she was stepping down because she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do the job justice in an election year. Since then, Ardern has announced she will temporarily join Harvard University this year after being appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School. She has also taken on an unpaid role combating online extremism. This month, Ardern received one of New Zealand’s highest honors for her service leading the country through a mass shooting and the pandemic. She was made a Dame Grand Companion, making her Dame Jacinda.
■ Riccardo Muti will become the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director emeritus for life starting next season. The announcement was made on the stage of Orchestra Hall on Friday night after a performance of Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis,” the start of Muti’s final subscription weekend as music director. His tenure began with the 2010-11 season. Muti was to repeat the Beethoven on Saturday night and tonight, then closes his tenure Tuesday night with a free concert in Millennium Park. Muti, who turns 82 in July, is scheduled to conduct the orchestra for six weeks in each of the next two seasons. His career has included lengthy tenures with Italy’s Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Milan’s Teatro alla Scala.