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January 20 (United Press International) — New Zealand’s Labor Party chose the former Coronavirus disease Response minister Chris Hipkins takes over as prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
On Wednesday, Ardern unexpectedly announced her resignation at a Labor retreat.
“This summer, I had hoped to find a way to prepare not only for the next year, but for the next term – because that was the requirement this year. I was not able to,” Ardern wrote in a letter road. facebook post announced his resignation. Ardern said she would be leaving by February 7.
Ardern was the youngest woman to ever serve as a nation’s head of government at the time of her election as prime minister in 2017.
Hipkins worked at multiple government jobs In recent years, this has included serving as Minister of Public Service, Education and Police.
Hipkins is known for implementing major reforms to New Zealand’s school system during his tenure as education minister.
He is also known for a string of public gaffes and apologies.
As COVID-19 response minister in 2021, Hipkins blamed the Northland region’s 11-day lockdown on “gang-linked sex workers”, whom he accused of crossing the Auckland region’s border inappropriately.
Subsequent releases under the Official Information Act disclose Hipkins knew the women had been wrongly accused.
While serving as public service minister in 2022, Hipkins apologized to former finance minister Bill English after his family suggested they were treated differently in the government contracting incident because they were “white”.
Labor will vote on Sunday to confirm Hipkins’ appointment.
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