Former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Releases Memoir: A Different Kind of Power.
Books & Authors
In June 2025, Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, released her much-anticipated memoir titled "A Different Kind of Power." The book is published jointly by Virago Press (an imprint of the UK-based Little, Brown Book Group) and Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House (USA).
- Jacinda Ardern, who served as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023, made global headlines for her empathetic and inclusive leadership style. At just 37 years old, she became one of the youngest leaders in New Zealand’s history, and the second elected head of government in the world to give birth while in office.
- The memoir offers a reflective narrative of Ardern’s early political life, her rise to the premiership, and the challenges she faced as a young woman leading a diverse coalition government. She writes candidly about discovering her pregnancy during intense post-election negotiations in 2017.
- Ardern shares deeply moving insights on responding to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, where her compassionate handling earned global admiration. Her leadership resulted in swift and strict gun control reforms that reshaped New Zealand's firearm laws.
Main Point :- (i) A chapter is devoted to the Zero-COVID strategy, which prioritized science-driven decisions, aggressive border management, and public trust. New Zealand reported one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates globally during her tenure.
(ii) Through ten personal leadership principles, Ardern redefines what power can mean in modern politics—positioning empathy, vulnerability, and authenticity not as weaknesses but as transformative tools for effective governance.
(iii) The book also reflects on the global scrutiny women in leadership face, and how she navigated criticism with poise. Her approach inspired debates on gender, media accountability, and inclusive political discourse.
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