Politics

Jacinda Ardern Just Brought Her Baby To A UN Meeting In A Deeply Wholesome Power Move

The UN even mocked up a security pass for New Zealand's First Baby.

by Sam Langford  25 September 2018
jacinda ardern new zealand first baby united nations

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern just brought her new baby Neve along to a United Nations meeting in New York. This is probably the most wholesome power move ever.

I mean, look at this. It’s delightful.

Ardern has been juggling both the Prime Ministership and motherhood since Neve was born three months ago, which is a pretty extraordinary feat. While her partner Clarke Gayford is Neve’s primary carer, both of them had to tag along with Ardern to New York for the UN meeting, as Ardern is still breastfeeding.

That meant taking a 17-hour flight with an infant in tow, right before making a speech at the UN. But Ardern seems to be handling it all like the legend she is. She even paid for Gayford and Neve’s tickets and accommodation herself even though she technically could have charged taxpayers.

Anyway, they all made it intact (if sleep deprived), and Gayford held the baby while Ardern made her speech at the peace summit. The kid was extremely well-behaved for her debut on the world stage. The UN even mocked up a security pass for her, which refers to her by her proper title of “New Zealand First Baby”.

Of course, bringing a baby to the United Nations doesn’t always go totally smoothly. “I wish I could have captured the startled look on a Japanese delegation inside UN yesterday who walked into a meeting room in the middle of a nappy change,” Gayford tweeted yesterday. “Great yarn for her 21st”.

Still, the UN was incredibly supportive of the First Baby of New Zealand’s presence, with UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying the organisation was delighted to see Neve there.

“Prime Minister Ardern is showing that no one is better qualified to represent her country than a working mother. Just 5 per cent of the world’s leaders are women, so we need to make them as welcome here as possible,” he said.