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FORTUNE.COM // MAY.1.19
JACINDA ARDERN HAD
already broken new
ground as a preg-
nant woman—and
then a new mother—
leading a nation.
And this year, the
38-year-old Prime
Minister showed the
world her fullness
as a leader as she
deftly, empatheti-
cally, and humbly
navigated New
Zealand through the
worst terror attack
in its history, after
50 were killed at two
mosques in Christ-
church in March.
Rallying people be-
hind the theme “We
are one,” she chan-
neled the country’s—
and Muslim commu-
nity’s—grief as she
opened speeches
with Arabic greetings
and quietly wore a
head scarf. She set a
standard for dignity
in the face of vio-
lence by refusing to
speak the attacker’s
name. And she won
near-unanimous
support for a ban
on semiautomatic
weapons of the kind
used in the attack.
Future leaders can
look to Ardern for a
master class in how
to guide a country
through a crisis.
PRIME MINISTER, NEW ZEALAND
PHOTOGRAPH BY DEREK HENDERSON
