New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday she was pregnant with her first child, prompting an outpouring of support from women&#39;s rights groups and labour activists as she declared &quot;I&#39;ll be a prime minister and a mum&quot;.

Ardern said she planned to work until the end of her pregnancy in June and then take six-weeks leave, during which time Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters would run the country.

Speaking to reporters outside her Auckland home, Ardern said her partner Clarke Gayford would care for the &quot;surprise&quot; addition full-time and that the whole family would travel together when necessary.

&quot;I am not the first woman to work and have a baby. I know these are special circumstances but there are many women who have done it well before I have,&quot; she said.

The popular 37-year-old politician&#39;s pregnancy is one of the very few examples of an elected leader holding office while pregnant and the first in New Zealand&#39;s history. Pakistan&#39;s Benazir Bhutto gave birth while she was prime minister in 1990.

Ardern, who came to power through a coalition deal after a closely fought election last year, has experienced a meteoric rise to power as New Zealand&#39;s youngest prime minister in more than a century, and its third female leader.

Ardern&#39;s rise to power has generated intense interest in her personal life and drew comparisons with other youthful leaders such as France&#39;s Emmanuel Macron and Canada&#39;s Justin Trudeau.

Ardern was quick to assure the public that she would only take six weeks off, during which time she would still be contactable, so that the country would run as usual.

The short period contrasts with her party&#39;s parental leave policies, with the Labour-led coalition expanding paid parental leave from 18 to 22 weeks in one of its first legislative changes. That is set to rise again to 26 weeks in 2020.

Ardern acknowledged that she was &quot;lucky&quot; that her partner, a well-known television fishing show presenter, could take time off to travel with her while he cared for the baby full-time.

She had no plans to stop work until June and would fly to London in April to attend a Commonwealth leader&#39;s meeting.

Advocacy groups and politicians from across the political spectrum were quick to offer support.

&quot;It&#39;s really inspiring...having our prime minister lead by example is a great sign of how far we&#39;ve come in women&#39;s industrial rights in New Zealand,&quot; said Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff in an emailed statement to Reuters.

New Zealand has long held a progressive reputation, having been the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893.

&quot;It&#39;s amazing timing...125 years later we have a prime minister who&#39;s going to give birth in office,&quot; said Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter.

Ardern revealed on Friday that she had unexpectedly found out she was pregnant on Oct. 13, just six days before she was propelled into the country&#39;s top job when New Zealand First Party leader Peters announced he was siding with Labour in post-election negotiations.

When asked by a reporter how she had managed putting together a government while suffering from morning sickness, she replied, &quot;it&#39;s just what ladies do&quot;.

Ardern said she planned to work until the end of her pregnancy in June and then take six-weeks leave, during which time Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters would run the country

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday she was pregnant with her first child, prompting an outpouring of support from women's rights groups and labour activists as she declared "I'll be a prime minister and a mum". Ardern said she planned to work until the end of her pregnancy in June and then take six-weeks leave, during which time Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters would run the country. Speaking to reporters outside her Auckland home, Ardern said her partner Clarke Gayford would care for the "surprise" addition full-time and that the whole family would travel together when necessary. "I am not the first woman to work and have a baby. I know these are special circumstances but there are many women who have done it well before I have," she said. The popular 37-year-old politician's pregnancy is one of the very few examples of an elected leader holding office while pregnant and the first in New Zealand's history. Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto gave birth while she was prime minister in 1990. Ardern, who came to power through a coalition deal after a closely fought election last year, has experienced a meteoric rise to power as New Zealand's youngest prime minister in more than a century, and its third female leader. Ardern's rise to power has generated intense interest in her personal life and drew comparisons with other youthful leaders such as France's Emmanuel Macron and Canada's Justin Trudeau. Ardern was quick to assure the public that she would only take six weeks off, during which time she would still be contactable, so that the country would run as usual. The short period contrasts with her party's parental leave policies, with the Labour-led coalition expanding paid parental leave from 18 to 22 weeks in one of its first legislative changes. That is set to rise again to 26 weeks in 2020. Ardern acknowledged that she was "lucky" that her partner, a well-known television fishing show presenter, could take time off to travel with her while he cared for the baby full-time. She had no plans to stop work until June and would fly to London in April to attend a Commonwealth leader's meeting. Advocacy groups and politicians from across the political spectrum were quick to offer support. "It's really inspiring...having our prime minister lead by example is a great sign of how far we've come in women's industrial rights in New Zealand," said Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff in an emailed statement to Reuters. New Zealand has long held a progressive reputation, having been the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893. "It's amazing timing...125 years later we have a prime minister who's going to give birth in office," said Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter. Ardern revealed on Friday that she had unexpectedly found out she was pregnant on Oct. 13, just six days before she was propelled into the country's top job when New Zealand First Party leader Peters announced he was siding with Labour in post-election negotiations. When asked by a reporter how she had managed putting together a government while suffering from morning sickness, she replied, "it's just what ladies do".

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern pregnant with first child

New Zealand&#39;s next prime minister will be Jacinda Ardern, whose Labour party won the support of a small nationalist party to form the government, spelling big changes for a small but open economy, whose currency hit a 4-1/2-month low on the news.

Labour indicated it would pursue plans to change the central bank&#39;s mandate, seek to renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and prioritize an effort to ban foreign ownership of certain types of housing.

&quot;It is an absolute honour and a privilege to have the ability to form a government for all New Zealanders,&quot; said Ardern, who will be the youngest prime minister in more than 150 years, ending the conservative National Party&#39;s decade in power.

&quot;These negotiations have been robust, but there has been more that has united the parties than has divided.&quot;

The New Zealand dollar fell more than one percent on the news that Labour would lead a government with backing from New Zealand First, as markets worried it would usher in more protectionist policies.

Ardern, a political ingenue whose victory marks the emergence of another youthful global leader promising to shake up the status quo, said she had offered the position of her deputy to Winston Peters, the leader of New Zealand First, who was considering it.

&quot;Far too many New Zealanders have come to view today&#39;s capitalism, not as their friend, but as their foe,&quot; Peters told a news conference.

&quot;We&rsquo;ve had to make a choice for a modified status quo, or for change,&quot; he said. &quot;We choose a coalition government of New Zealand First with Labour.&quot;

Peters said new policy announcements would be up to Ardern, but gave a foretaste of what may come by saying he expected fewer immigrants to be allowed into New Zealand.

He had agreed with Labour to build tens of thousands of affordable homes, he added.

&quot;This shows that Winston Peters wants to make some radical changes in New Zealand,&quot; said Bryce Edwards, political analyst at Critical Politics in Wellington.

&quot;He has always been an anti-establishment MP and he, in what will be his last time in government, wants to be in sync with that global rebellion against the status quo.&quot;

New Zealand First holds the balance of power with nine seats, a Labour-Green bloc controls 54 seats, and the National Party has 56 seats.

Labour and New Zealand First both favour curbs on trade and migration, which have both been a key source of growth for New Zealand&#39;s rapidly growing economy in recent years.

Annual net migration of 72,300 is at record levels in New Zealand, a country of just 4.7 million people, ahead of both Britain and the United States on a per capita basis.

The new government represents sweeping change for New Zealand with big implications for the currency &ndash; the world&rsquo;s 11th most traded &ndash; the central bank, immigration and foreign investment.

Post-war migration has underpinned New Zealand&#39;s economic success, but has also become a lightning rod for nationalists such as Peters, as housing prices soar.

Peters has said he plans to obstruct the government&#39;s pro-China stance. Under the previous National government, New Zealand became the first developed country to join the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Trade between the two countries has grown to more than NZ$20 billion ($14.4 billion) a year and Chinese President Xi Jinping called the relationship &quot;unprecedented&quot; in its depth.

After Thursday&#39;s announcement, the New Zealand dollar was last quoted 1.68 percent lower at $0.7034. It has fallen more then 4 percent against the U.S. dollar since the Sept. 23 vote.

Ardern, who will be the youngest prime minister in more than 150 years, ending the conservative National Party's decade in power.

New Zealand's next prime minister will be Jacinda Ardern, whose Labour party won the support of a small nationalist party to form the government, spelling big changes for a small but open economy, whose currency hit a 4-1/2-month low on the news. Labour indicated it would pursue plans to change the central bank's mandate, seek to renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and prioritize an effort to ban foreign ownership of certain types of housing. "It is an absolute honour and a privilege to have the ability to form a government for all New Zealanders," said Ardern, who will be the youngest prime minister in more than 150 years, ending the conservative National Party's decade in power. "These negotiations have been robust, but there has been more that has united the parties than has divided." The New Zealand dollar fell more than one percent on the news that Labour would lead a government with backing from New Zealand First, as markets worried it would usher in more protectionist policies. Ardern, a political ingenue whose victory marks the emergence of another youthful global leader promising to shake up the status quo, said she had offered the position of her deputy to Winston Peters, the leader of New Zealand First, who was considering it. "Far too many New Zealanders have come to view today's capitalism, not as their friend, but as their foe," Peters told a news conference. "We’ve had to make a choice for a modified status quo, or for change," he said. "We choose a coalition government of New Zealand First with Labour." Peters said new policy announcements would be up to Ardern, but gave a foretaste of what may come by saying he expected fewer immigrants to be allowed into New Zealand. He had agreed with Labour to build tens of thousands of affordable homes, he added. "This shows that Winston Peters wants to make some radical changes in New Zealand," said Bryce Edwards, political analyst at Critical Politics in Wellington. "He has always been an anti-establishment MP and he, in what will be his last time in government, wants to be in sync with that global rebellion against the status quo." New Zealand First holds the balance of power with nine seats, a Labour-Green bloc controls 54 seats, and the National Party has 56 seats. Labour and New Zealand First both favour curbs on trade and migration, which have both been a key source of growth for New Zealand's rapidly growing economy in recent years. Annual net migration of 72,300 is at record levels in New Zealand, a country of just 4.7 million people, ahead of both Britain and the United States on a per capita basis. The new government represents sweeping change for New Zealand with big implications for the currency – the world’s 11th most traded – the central bank, immigration and foreign investment. Post-war migration has underpinned New Zealand's economic success, but has also become a lightning rod for nationalists such as Peters, as housing prices soar. Peters has said he plans to obstruct the government's pro-China stance. Under the previous National government, New Zealand became the first developed country to join the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. Trade between the two countries has grown to more than NZ$20 billion ($14.4 billion) a year and Chinese President Xi Jinping called the relationship "unprecedented" in its depth. After Thursday's announcement, the New Zealand dollar was last quoted 1.68 percent lower at $0.7034. It has fallen more then 4 percent against the U.S. dollar since the Sept. 23 vote.

Jacinda Ardern to be next New Zealand prime minister

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New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern pregnant with first child

Jacinda Ardern to be next New Zealand prime minister