New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced she is pregnant.
In a press conference on Friday, Ms Ardern, 37, was accompanied by her partner Clarke Gayford and acknowledged the hard-working mothers around the nation and reiterated her commitment to both her roles as a prime minister and as a future mother.
"We will also recognise that we are very lucky, very privileged, that we're in a position where - like so many other parents - we will be juggling the caring roles, but we are privileged and lucky that Clarke will be able to do that job full-time," she said to media.
"I am not the first woman to multitask. I'm not the first woman to work and have a baby.
"I know these are special circumstances, but there will be many women who will have done this well before I have. I acknowledge those women."
Six weeks off
"Obviously I take very seriously the role of becoming a mum, as does Clarke becoming a dad. But we equally take seriously the role I have taken on as Prime Minister of New Zealand," she said.
"That means that I will be taking six weeks of leave after the baby's arrival in mid-June. I have already spoken to the Deputy Prime Minister and asked that he take on the duties and functions of the office of Prime Minister while I'm away. We will be working together through that time, as we do together now."
The prime minister said she found out she was pregnant on 13 October and that they have kept the sex of the baby secret.
Ms Ardern posted a photo of two large fishing hooks, with a small fishing hook in the middle, in reference to her partner's job to announce her pregnancy on social media. Her partner Mr Gayford is on the fishing television show Fish of the Day.
"We thought 2017 was a big year! This year we’ll join the many parents who wear two hats. I’ll be PM & a mum while Clarke will be “first man of fishing” & stay at home dad. There will be lots of questions (I can assure you we have a plan all ready to go!) but for now bring on 2018," she wrote.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and former NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark are just a few government officials that have already congratulated Ms Ardern.
Mr Turnbull said he spoke with Ms Ardern on Friday morning about her announcement and said she sounded more excited than when she won the election.
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