Jacinda Ardern, second among the 50 best thinkers in the world

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been named second in a list of the 2020 World’s 50 Best “Thinkers”.

British magazine Prospect ranked some of the world’s top leaders, listing those who were forward thinkers, had practical minds, and were involved in what is being described as the Covid era.

More than 20,000 votes were cast, with Ardern second only to KK Shailaja, an Indian politician and current Minister of Health and Social Welfare who foresaw the arrival of Covid-19 and understood the implications.

Ardern was recognized by the magazine for her response to the pandemic, praising her ability to show kindness while producing practical results.

“Second place, similarly won, went to Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, whose ruling ‘spirit of goodness’ was drawing interest as a refreshing (if confusing) alternative to neoliberalism even before it showed practical results in keep the crisis at bay.

“It always sounded quite airy, until it showed how it could be put into practice in the context of the coronavirus and achieved some of the best results in the world.

Prospect magazine cover, with Jacinda Ardern in the upper left.

“By bringing her baby to the UN General Assembly, she caught the world’s attention, but during three years in office, Ardern has proven to be more than a media darling. Her ‘ethic of kindness’ sounded a vague way of transcending neoliberalism, but it is constantly shown what it means in the fields from child welfare to the environment.

“His instinctive and bridge-building leadership after the Christchurch mosque massacre was an inspiration. And his Covid-19 strategy, devised in conjunction with Chief Scientist Juliet Gerrard, built with intelligence and empathy on a foundation of honesty. unwavering to achieve some of the world’s best results. “

Prospect had equally kind words to say about the world’s top-rated thinker, Shailaja.

“So skillful was her handling of a 2018 outbreak of the deadly Nipah disease that it was commemorated in a movie, Virus. In 2020, she was the right woman in the right place. When Covid-19 was still ‘a story from China’ In January, he not only accurately foresaw its inevitable arrival, but also fully understood the implications.

“Going to press, confirmed Covid-19 deaths in the state, which has average incomes an order of magnitude lower than Britain’s and just over half the population, were still not 1 percent. of ours “.

Jacinda Ardern received high praise. Photo / Prospectus

Third place went to Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, another woman applying her mind to an urgent practical challenge: climate change.

Seven of the top 10 are women, a stark contrast to Prospect’s Top 100 Thinkers poll of 15 years ago, where it only featured 10 women.

It is not the first time that Ardern has been named among the world’s top leaders.

In 2018 and 2019, Ardern was named in Time’s list of the most influential people in the world.

Fortune magazine named her the second-largest leader in the world, while in another poll she was voted Australia’s most trusted politician, despite being New Zealand.