Reflecting on Jacinda Ardern’s time as Prime Minister will likely always arouse strong emotions. She led during an incredibly divided political time both here and abroad. By the end of her tenure she and her Government retained strong supporters - but also had many equally loud detractors.
But she presented a face to the world that should make this country proud: a young woman of a rising generation, a modern leader, warm, empathetic, passionate in her concerns for poverty, inequality, climate change, the advancement of women and indigenous minorities and the need to regulate and moderate the use of new internet media.
The last concern arose from the event that made her greatest impact on the world. Her instinctive response to the murderous terrorism of Muslims in Christchurch, donning a headscarf to embrace families of those killed, did not just touch the world - it changed it. The shadow of 9/11 that lay over the early years of the 21st century was lifted by the realisation of a common humanity.
In her own country, Ardern will be most strongly remembered for her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. Supporters and opponents will continue to hold bitterly different positions over that legacy.
No previous Prime Minister had received advice to close the country’s borders, order most of the private sector to close their business unless it could be done online, urge people to stay home, steer clear of other people, don’t breathe the same air. She delivered messages with equal compassion and authority early in the pandemic, appealing to the underlying “kindness” and fellowship that she knew was in the “team of five million”. The Government succeeded in keeping the virus at bay for a year and Labour was rewarded with a stunning re-election victory, winning the party vote in all electorates but one.