New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern holds a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (out of frame) following talks on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 20, 2022. (Ludovic Marin / AFP via Getty Images)
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she will resign from her post no later than Feb. 7.
“I am human, politicians are human,” she said at the Labour Party’s caucus meeting in Napier on Thursday.
“We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.”
She said that she believes she does not have energy to continue as New Zealand’s prime minister.
“I’d be doing a disservice to New Zealand if I continued,” she said. “I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not.
“I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”
Ardern said that her colleagues who found out about the move late Wednesday were not surprised.
She also announced that New Zealand’s general election will be held on Oct. 14.
Ardern was elected to be New Zealand’s prime minister in 2017. She was 37 at the time.
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
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