Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to Teach at University of Sydney

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to join the University of Sydney in Australia as a teacher and adviser. In her new role, she will focus on compassionate leadership, social cohesion and ways to build public trust.

According to The Guardian, Ardern will work with the university’s public health department on global health challenges, equality, inclusion and well-being. She will deliver guest lectures, conduct special classes and mentor students. However, the role will not be full-time.

Speaking about her new position, Ardern said she wanted to explore how leadership could be better encouraged and supported to address the challenges facing the world.

University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott said Ardern had demonstrated, while leading New Zealand through various crises, that compassion and strength were not opposing qualities but could reinforce each other.

In an interview with Australian broadcaster ABC in July, Ardern said that while many world leaders were adopting authoritarian styles of leadership, people wanted compassionate leadership. She also suggested that dissatisfaction with mainstream politics was driving some voters towards parties outside the political mainstream.

Ardern served as New Zealand’s prime minister and leader of the Labour Party for more than five years before stepping down from politics in January 2023. During her tenure, the country faced several major crises, including the Christchurch terrorist attacks, the Whakaari volcano eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the age of 37, Ardern became the world’s youngest female head of government in 2017. She was also the second head of government in the world to give birth while in office.

After leaving politics, she completed fellowships at Harvard University in the United States, focusing on public leadership and technology governance. Her memoir, A Different Kind of Power, was published in 2025.

According to The Guardian, Ardern moved to Sydney earlier this year with her husband, Clarke Gayford, and their daughter, Neve. The family also purchased a house in a coastal area in northern Sydney for 5.3 million Australian dollars.

Source: The Guardian