Jacinda Ardern Thinks World Leaders Need More Kindness

The former prime minister, who led New Zealand through the pandemic, has published a memoir arguing for more empathy in politics.

Since she resigned as prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern got married, temporarily relocated to the United States and began a fellowship at Harvard University. Lauren O'Neil for The New York Times

It is easy to forget that Jacinda Ardern is a former prime minister of New Zealand.

Standing in line at a cafe in Cambridge, Mass., wearing a suit by the New Zealand designer Juliette Hogan, with sneakers and gold hoops, she flashes a disarming smile and says to call her “just Jacinda.” As she orders a cappuccino the cashier wonders why she looks so familiar. Was she, by any chance, that person on TV? “Toni Collette?” they ask, referring to an Australian actress.

Ms. Ardern, without security detail, waves off the misidentification and doesn’t set the record straight.

The cafe is a 10-minute walk from Harvard University, where Ms. Ardern, who resigned as prime minister in 2023, now holds three fellowships. In the aftermath of her voluntary resignation, she married her longtime partner, Clarke Gayford, and temporarily moved her family to Massachusetts.