Jacinda Ardern addresses New Zealand's parliament in her farewell address
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Willington, New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern, the former leader of New Zealand, announced her resignation from the parliament on Wednesday, capping a career characterised by empathetic leadership during difficult times despite receiving increasing online abuse.
Earlier this year, Ardern stunned New Zealand by announcing her resignation as prime minister and exit from politics, claiming she no longer had "enough in the tank."
In her final address to parliament, the 42-year-old, who was once the youngest woman leader in the world, stated that she had never anticipated taking the position as leader of the country, AFP reported.
"It was a cross between a sense of duty to steer a moving freight train... and being hit by one," she quipped during her valedictory address.
"And that's probably because my internal reluctance to lead was matched only by a huge sense of responsibility."
Ardern led New Zealand through a number of crises, including a natural disaster, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting, in which a white nationalist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers.
"These stories and phases remain etched in my mind and likely will forever. That is the responsibility and privilege of the role of prime minister."
In a significant portion of her statement, Ardern addressed the issue of climate change and urged the nation's politicians to work together.
"Climate change is a crisis. It is upon us," she said.
"And so one of the very few things I will ask of this house on my departure is that you please take the politics out of climate change."
As part of the Christchurch Call initiative, which she established as prime minister in the wake of the mosque assault, she will now devote herself to eradicating online extremism.