MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
A worrier - that is how former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described herself in a farewell speech today.
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JACINDA ARDERN: Some might say the worst possible character trait to have as a politician, or the best depending on how you cut it.
KELLY: Her message - you can be anxious, sensitive and kind and be an effective leader.
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ARDERN: And not only can you be here, you can lead just like me.
ADRIAN FLORIDO, HOST:
Ardern stepped down as prime minister earlier this year, but remained a member of Parliament. Now she says goodbye to the chamber and to politics.
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ARDERN: I've always believed this to be a place where you can make a difference. I leave knowing that to be true.
FLORIDO: Ardern joined the New Zealand House of Representatives 15 years ago when she was just 28 years old. At the time, she was its youngest member.
KELLY: In today's speech, she touted her wins and losses over the years, like the crises she oversaw - a domestic terror attack, a volcanic eruption, a pandemic.
FLORIDO: And she made a point to talk about one issue in particular.
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ARDERN: Climate change is a crisis. It is upon us. And so one of the very few things I will ask of this House on my departure is that you please take the politics out of climate change.
FLORIDO: Ardern also touched on her struggle to conceive a child.
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ARDERN: I had not long experienced a failed IVF round when I became leader of the Labour Party. I thought that I had found myself on a path that meant I wouldn't be a mother. Rather than process that, I campaigned to become prime minister...
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ARDERN: ...A rather good distraction as far as they go. Imagine my surprise when a couple of months later I discovered I was pregnant.
KELLY: Ardern made history when she brought baby Neve to the U.N. General Assembly 3 months after birth. So it was only fitting that Neve, who is now 4 years old, was in the public galleries watching and listening to her mom's farewell to politics.
(SOUNDBITE OF 6LACK'S SONG, "TALKBACK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
