Amidst her tears, the Australian Prime Minister announces her resignation
As she fought back tears in front of reporters in the city of Napier, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she would not run in the general elections scheduled for this year.
Ardern said that February 7 will be her last day in office.
The 42-year-old - who has led the country through the darkest of natural disasters, the Covid pandemic and the worst terrorist attack ever - said she no longer had "enough up her sleeve" to do the job.
Ardern's liberal Labor Party was re-elected two years ago with a historic landslide, but opinion polls have put her party behind its conservative rivals in recent times.
Ardern became the world's youngest female head of government when she was elected prime minister in 2017 at the age of 37.
She was also the second female prime minister in the world to give birth while in office, and became a global icon for women in leadership.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid tribute to his New Zealand counterpart, saying Jacinda Ardern's leadership has made a "huge" difference on the world stage.
He was one of a number of leaders and public figures who expressed their admiration for Bardeen, who shocked the world by announcing that she was stepping down from the high office.
"Thank you for your partnership and friendship - and for your sympathetic, strong, and steadfast leadership over the past several years," Trudeau said in a tweet.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Ardern was a "fierce advocate for New Zealand" and "showed the world how smart and strong she leads".
"She has demonstrated that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities," he added.
American journalist and former first lady of California, Maria Shriver, described Ardern as an "inspirational leader".
New Zealand actor Sam Neill described Ardern in a tweet on Twitter as a "great leader".
"I'm not surprised and I don't blame her for what she did, but the way she was treated these past few months was disgraceful and embarrassed by bullies, misogynists, she deserved so much better," he said.
New Zealand's national opposition leader, Christopher Luxon, said Ardern had "made a significant contribution to New Zealand, in a challenging and demanding job" and described her as "a strong ambassador for New Zealand on the world stage".
The leader of New Zealand's liberal right-wing ACT party said Ardern was "a well-intentioned person", but claimed that "her idealism collided sharply with reality".
Her term as prime minister will end no later than February 7, but she will continue as an MP until elections later this year.
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