International

New Zealand prime minister announces she’s pregnant: ‘I’m not the first woman to multitask’

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Friday that she is pregnant, which will make her the second elected world leader to give birth in office.

Ardern said that she and her partner, Clarke Gayford, are expecting their first child in June. 

“I am not the first woman to multitask. I’m not the first woman to work and have a baby,” Ardern told reporters. “I know these are special circumstances, but there are many women who will have done this well before I have.”

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Ardern became prime minister in October, making her the country’s youngest premier since 1856. 

She’s also set to become the first elected world leader in decades to give birth while serving in office. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto did so in 1990. 

In an Instagram post on Friday, Ardern celebrated the news.

“Clarke and I are really excited that in June our team will expand from two to three, and that we’ll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats,” she wrote. “I’ll be Prime Minister AND a mum, and Clarke will be ‘first man of fishing’ and stay at home dad.”

“I think it’s fair to say that this will be a wee one that a village will raise, but we couldn’t be more excited.”