Reuters, Wellington :
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth to her first child, a girl, on Thursday, Ardern said in a posting on Instagram.
Ardern, 37, became New Zealand’s youngest prime minister when she took office through a coalition deal last year after an inconclusive election, and now becomes the first woman in the country’s history to give birth while in office.
“Welcome to our village wee one,” Ardern wrote on Instagram.
“Feeling very lucky to have a healthy baby girl that arrived at 4.45 pm weighing 3.31 kg (7.3 lb) … We’re all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital.”
She posted a picture of herself, smiling and holding the baby in a woollen blanket, with her partner, television presenter Clarke Gayford.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has stepped in as acting prime minister and will run the country for the next six weeks while Ardern takes maternity leave, according to an agreement they published earlier.
Ardern is one of the few elected leaders to hold office while pregnant. Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto gave birth while she was prime minister in 1990.
Ardern has said she plans to return to work at the beginning of August.
Then, Gayford will take care of the baby and will travel with Ardern between their Auckland home and the capital, Wellington, as well on international engagements.
