New Zealand prime minister becomes 2nd world leader in modern era to give birth

ByJUSTIN DOOM ABCNews logo
Thursday, June 21, 2018

The prime minister of New Zealand has given birth to a girl.

Jacinda Ardern, 37, said in a personal Instagram post that her daughter arrived at 4:45 p.m. local time on Thursday, weighing in at 7.3 pounds.

It's the first child for her and partner Clarke Gayford.

"Thank you so much for your best wishes and your kindness," Ardern wrote in her post. "We're all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital."

Ardern, according to the Associated Press, became the second elected world leader in modern times to give birth in office, joining the late Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who in 1990 gave birth to daughter Bakhtawar.

Winston Peters, New Zealand's deputy prime minister, has taken over in the meantime, and Ardern is planning to take a six-week leave before returning, the AP reported.

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