Jacinda Ardern graced the covers of some of the world’s most salubrious and widely read magazines. Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Forbes put her on the list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful.
Regardless of her face or even her policies – it’s Jacinda’s word that are her legacy. As George Elliot once said, ‘it is a very hard thing to say the exact truth even when you have no motive to be false, even about your own immediate feelings’. Jacinda Ardern managed it. Saying things in ways that were simple but carried weight and meaning. In the Great Big Book of Immortal Lines from our leaders here are four of hers which we think are winners.
Quotes From Jacinda Ardern We Love
Listen to Jacinda Ardern’s full speech here.
“Some people have asked me whether I am a radical. My answer to that question is very simple: I am from Morrinsville. Where I come from a radical is someone who chooses to drive a Toyota rather than a Holden or a Ford.”
“In New Zealand, we have a simple message for anyone who would consider carrying out such a hateful act on our shores. We are one. They are not us.”
“If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”
“I want to build a country where it doesn’t matter what your gender is, what your sexual orientation is, what your ethnicity is, where you come from, what your socioeconomic status is – you are valued, and you have the opportunities that everyone else does.”
Haere rā Jacinda. Here is our simple message to you. On the world stage you made us proud. As a woman you were the role model our daughters needed. In Aotearoa we are so glad that you are one of us.
Related article: How Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern takes care of herself (and us)
