Jacinda Ardern’s time as Prime Minister coincided with major events in New Zealand and overseas, from the Christchurch mosque attacks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
August 2017: Jacinda Ardern takes over as Labour Party leader, just weeks out from the election.
October 2017: Ardern becomes Prime Minster, leading a coalition government with the Green Party and New Zealand First.
June 2018: Ardern becomes only the second elected world leader to give birth while in office.
March 2019: The Christchurch mosque attack leaves 51 people dead and thrusts Ardern onto the world stage as New Zealand deals with a major terrorism outrage and Ardern leads efforts to tackle online harm through the "Christchurch call".
December 2019: An eruption on Whakaari/White Island leaves 22 people dead.
March 2020: Ardern announces New Zealand is effectively closing its borders and is going into lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdown lasts until May.
October 2020: Labour wins the election by a landslide, with 65 of the 120 seats and is able to govern alone.
Ardern took a flailing Labour Party to power in record time., and then had to deal with a string of crises. (Source: 1News)
June 2021: Ardern issues an official apology for the Dawn Raids of the 1970s in which immigration officials targeted the homes of Pacific Islands people who were accused of "overtaying" their visas.
August 2021: Auckland goes back into Covid-19 lockdown and stays under restrictions for months.
February 2022: Protesters angered by vaccine mandates and other issues take over Parliament's grounds and stay for three weeks before a violent end to the occupation on March 2. Ardern calls it an "illegal occupation" and says she was saddened by the violent ending.
March 2022: National overtakes Labour in 1News Kantar Public Poll, for the first time since Ardern became leader in 2017.
July 2022: New Zealand’s borders fully reopen. Inflation hits a 32-year high at 7.3%.
December 2022: The final 1News Kantar Public Poll of the year gives National a 5% lead, and National Party leader Christopher Luxon is now just 6% behind Ardern in the preferred prime Minister ratings.
January 2023: Ardern announces she is standing down as Prime Minister.
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