20 Oct 2017

Bringing youth to power

8:34 pm on 20 October 2017

Is it me or are world leaders getting younger?

At just 37 years old, Jacinda Ardern joins what is a wave of youth sweeping the ranks of world leaders.

Jacinda Ardern

Jacinda Ardern arrives to make an acceptance speech upon finding out she will be New Zealand's 42nd Prime Minister. Photo: AFP

Not only is she New Zealand's youngest Prime Minister in 160 years, she's also among the top ten youngest leaders in the world.

Just last week Austrians voted for youth and forced a collective grey-haired intake of breath when millennial Sebastian Kurz won the Austrian election.

He's set to become the world's youngest leader at the tender age of 31. And in Austria they even have a name for him - "Wunderwuzzi", - which translates roughly as "whizz kid" or "boy wonder".

Earlier this year, elections in Europe also produced leaders in their 30s.

Emmanuel Macron won the French presidency aged 39.

He beats Ireland's Leo Varadkar by a year. At 38, Mr Varadkar became his country's youngest ever Prime Minister or Taoiseach in June - labelled the "bright young man leading the Irish revival".

There's also Prime Minister of Estonia Juri Ratas, aged 39.

At 37 the so-called Dragon King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, is just a few months older than Ms Ardern, although he was much younger when he took the throne and became Bhutan's leader in 2006.

Also born in the same year but a few weeks before New Zealand's new Prime Minister is Qatar's leader Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

North Korea's temperamental leader Kim Jong-un is 34, but actually rose to power at age 27 when his father died.

When Canada's Justin Trudeau took office as Prime Minister he was thought to be a young, fresh face, but at 45 he starts to look like an elder statesman.

It's all in stark contrast to just a year before, when the British Prime Minister David Cameron, then 49, was succeeded by Theresa May who was 59, and 55-year-old US president Barack Obama handed over to Donald Trump, 70.

And for a bit of extra context - here's a quick snapshot of what was going on in 1980 - the year Jacinda Ardern was born:

  • The first Sweetwaters Music Festival took place
  • Split Enz's 'I Got You' became the first New Zealand No 1 hit to top the charts in Australia and Canada.
  • The Social Credit Party won a second seat in Parliament.
  • The award-winning play Foreskin's Lament by Greg McGee was first performed.
  • Sharon O'Neill won Album of the Year and Top Female Vocalist at the Music Awards.
  • Some of the most popular films were The Shining, Stars Wars: Empire Strikes Back, Airplane!, Elephant Man, The Blue Lagoon and The Blues Brothers.
  • Most countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics.
  • American news network CNN was launched .
  • The Rubik's Cube and the "Post-It" note had their debuts.
  • "Dallas" was the most popular show on TV as people tuned in to find out "who shot JR?".

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