'Unexpected but exciting'
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday announced she is expecting her first baby, and is set to become the country's first leader to give birth while in office.
The 37-year-old, who was sworn in last October, made global headlines when she slapped down pre-election questions over whether she intended to start a family, insisting pregnancy had no bearing on a woman's career opportunities.
Ardern was all smiles Friday as she appeared with partner Clarke Gayford at their home to announce the "unexpected but exciting" news of their first baby.
"Clark and I are really excited to share...that in June we are looking forward to welcoming our first child," she told reporters.
The charismatic leader enjoyed a rapid rise to the top ranks of politics, winning office last year just months after taking the helm of the centre-left Labour Party.
"We thought 2017 was a big year!" she tweeted.
"This year we'll join the many parents who wear two hats. I'll be PM and a mum while Clarke will be 'first man of fishing' and stay at home dad."
Ardern said she would take six weeks off after the birth of her child, with maverick Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters taking the reins of office.
She tweeted a picture of two large fishing hooks, one with a smaller hook inside it, in reference to Gayford's career as a television fishing show presenter.
While several male prime ministers have become parents in office, late Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is believed to have been the first head of government to have given birth during her term, when she had a baby in 1990.
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