--- title: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Returns From Maternity Leave description: New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern returns to work after six weeks maternity leave canonical: https://time.com/5356073/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave/ author: Laignee Barron article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-02T08:12:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:02:10.934Z article:section: World og:title: Jacinda Ardern Returns to Work After Maternity Leave og:description: New Zealand's Prime Minister became the second woman to give birth in office og:url: https://time.com/5356073/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8560abce8658f057/698936e3ab6d7713fc6b353d/gettyimages-866449914.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: New Labour Government Sworn In By Governor-General og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jacinda Ardern Returns to Work After Maternity Leave twitter:description: New Zealand's Prime Minister became the second woman to give birth in office twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8560abce8658f057/698936e3ab6d7713fc6b353d/gettyimages-866449914.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Returns to Work After Maternity Leave ## Video: Jacinda Ardern: The World’s Youngest Female Leader [Watch (HLS stream): Jacinda Ardern: The World’s Youngest Female Leader](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FYv0qfl4.m3u8) (3:43)  _Published 2017-11-20. New Zealand's new Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks to TIME about being a young leader, social media, and why politics can change the world_ by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Aug 2, 2018 8:12 AM CUT  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives a speech at parliament after a swearing-in ceremony in Wellington, New Zealand on Oct. 26, 2017. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives a speech at parliament after a swearing-in ceremony in Wellington, New Zealand on Oct. 26, 2017.Hagen Hopkins—Getty Images by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Aug 2, 2018 8:12 AM CUT New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern returned to work Thursday after six weeks maternity leave. On June 21, Ardern welcomed daughter Neve Gayford, and became only the second world leader to give birth while in office. Ardern posted a [video](https://www.facebook.com/jacindaardern/videos/vb.45300632440/10155405508197441/?type=2&theater "undefined") to Facebook on Saturday saying “a quick hello” as her maternity leave draws into its last week and she prepared to return to parliament. While Ardern handed over most of her duties to her deputy Winston Peters, she revealed in the video that she has continued to read cabinet papers from home as well as consult on any major issues. Outlining her agenda for her first week back, Ardern said she would get to work on mental health, environment and trade issues in the immediate future. “I’m going to be focused on getting straight back into it,” she said. The Labour Party Leader has fielded sexist questions and even skepticism about her ability to handle her roles as mother and head of state by pointing out that she is walking a well-trodden path. “I’m not the first woman to work and have a baby,” Ardern has said. **Read more:** [_New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern Is About to Take Maternity Leave. Why That’s a Good Thing for Both Women and Men_](http://time.com/5310676/jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave-new-zealand/ "undefined") Pakistan’s Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto became the first government leader to have a child in office in 1990. Ardern, who turned 38 last week, became New Zealand’s youngest prime minister and its third female leader when she was elected last October. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5356073/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5356073/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave/"},"headline":"New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Returns to Work After Maternity Leave","datePublished":"2018-08-02T08:12:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:02:10.934Z","description":"New Zealand's Prime Minister became the second woman to give birth in office in June","url":"https://time.com/5356073/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave/","keywords":["New Zealand","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8560abce8658f057/698936e3ab6d7713fc6b353d/gettyimages-866449914.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laignee Barron","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8560abce8658f057/698936e3ab6d7713fc6b353d/gettyimages-866449914.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New Labour Government Sworn In By Governor-General","caption":"New Labour Government Sworn In By Governor-General","creditText":"Hagen Hopkins—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/new-zealand/","name":"New Zealand"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5356073/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave/","name":"New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Returns to Work After Maternity Leave"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Jacinda Ardern: The World’s Youngest Female Leader","description":"New Zealand's new Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks to TIME about being a young leader, social media, and why politics can change the world","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FYv0qfl4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-11-20T07:37:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FYv0qfl4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5356073/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave/","duration":"PT3M43S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5356073/new-zealand-jacinda-ardern-maternity-leave/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```