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There is one twist to Jacinda Ardern's tale of her road to Parliament. Her first taste of politics was as a volunteer worker for Labour MP Harry Duynhoven as a teenager.
Yet on Saturday night when the 28-year-old Ms Ardern made it into Parliament through her party's list, the preliminary count showed the veteran Mr Duynhoven had lost his New Plymouth seat to National's Jonathon Young.
Ms Ardern had the safety net of a high list placing at number 20 so was a dead cert for becoming an MP.
She returned to New Zealand in October after three years abroad, and sought a place within Labour's ranks last year.
She is the youngest of the new MPs and says she was "privileged" to get the list ranking she did.
A former Beehive adviser to Helen Clark, and a Young Labour president, her three years overseas included volunteer work making meatballs in a New York "soup kitchen", then she worked as a policy adviser for Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
She said she was "passionate about social justice issues from a young age".
Saturday was a night of mixed emotions.
"There was obviously disappointment for us. We campaigned to return a Labour Government but have to respect the voters' wishes."
