About Jacinda Ardern.
Jacinda Ardern, born in 1980 in Hamilton, New Zealand, is a politician and was the country's prime minister (PM).
Jacinda joined the New Zealand Labour Party in 1999. After finishing school, she worked in England for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
She returned to New Zealand in 2008 and joined the House of Representatives. She worked hard and became New Zealand’s 40th PM in 2017.
Her work as the PM.
As the PM, she did some amazing things! In 2019, she made a big decision to ban guns after an unfortunate mass shooting. People worldwide respected her for this brave choice.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Jacinda took intelligent steps to keep everyone safe. Because of her hard work, she was re-elected as PM in October 2020.
However, her party didn’t have as much support over time, and she decided to step down in January 2023.
Jacinda Ardern receives damehood.
Recently, Prince William gave Jacinda Ardern a super cool award called a damehood! She became a Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (NZOM).
Ardern was so happy and thanked her family and friends after receiving the damehood. This award is for people who do great things for their country.
Prince Williams gave her this honour because New Zealand is part of the Commonwealth Realm.
What is the damehood?
Have you heard about knighthood? It’s a special title for men given by the King or Queen or members of the Royal Family of the UK! They get this title for doing amazing things for their country.
When a woman gets a similar honour, it’s called damehood! People with these titles can say “Sir” or “Dame” before their names.
Did you know that even people from other countries can earn these titles? They can’t always use “Sir” or “Dame,” but there are some special cases.
If someone becomes a Dame Grand Companion of the NZOM, they can call themselves “Dame.” So, Jacinda Ardern can be called “Dame Jacinda Ardern!” Isn’t that cool?
