Jacinda Ardern (born July 1980) is the 40th prime minister of New Zealand since 2017. She attended a state school and graduated from the University of Waikato in 2001, she was first elected in 2008 as president of the International Union of Socialist Youth. Ardern was unanimously elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party in 2017. Labour's support increased rapidly after Ardern became leader, and she led her party to gain 14 seats at the 2017 general election. After negotiations, New Zealand First chose to enter a minority coalition government with Labour, supported by the Green Party, with Ardern as prime minister. She was sworn in by the Governor-General in 2017. She became the world's youngest female head of government at age 37. Ardern gave birth to her daughter Neve on 21 June 2018, making her the world's second elected head of government to give birth while in office (after Benazir Bhutto). Ardern describes herself as a social democrat and a progressive. The Sixth Labour Government has faced challenges from a housing crisis, child poverty, and social inequality. In the aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, Ardern rapidly introduced strict gun laws, and throughout 2020 she faced difficult choices in leading New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ardern led the Labour Party to victory in the 2020 general election, gaining an overall majority of 65 seats in Parliament, the first time this has happened since the introduction of proportional representation in 1996.