Chris Hipkins, the closest name to the Prime Minister of New Zealand
According to reports in the New Zealand press, the only candidate for the leadership of the Labor Party, whom Ardern says he will resign, is Education and Police Minister Hipkins.
Duncan Webb, one of the Labor Party officials, stated that a meeting will be held at the party at 1:00 p.m. local time (January 21).
Webb stated at the meeting that Hipkins would be nominated to lead the Labor Party.
For this reason, it is considered certain that Hipkins will be elected leader of the Labor Party instead of Ardern and will become Prime Minister.
Chris Hipkins/Reuters
He will leave his position on February 7.
Hipkins, 44, also served as Minister to Fight Covid-19.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a televised statement on January 19 that she would step down as prime minister, which she had held for “6 difficult years,” no later than February 7.
Ardern, 42, had declared that he would not run in the country’s general election to be held on October 14 and that he would leave the leadership of the Labor Party.
Ardern became the “youngest prime minister in the world” when she was elected prime minister in October 2017 at the age of 37. (AA)