Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has topped Fortune Magazine’s list of the world’s greatest leaders, beating out a number of influential people including Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n
The publication cited her leadership through Covid-19 as the catalyst for her top ranking.<\/p>\n
“The Covid-19 pandemic struck and Ardern targeted not just suppression of the virus but its complete elimination,” Fortune said.<\/p>\n
“Though there have been a few scares, her strategy largely proved successful; New Zealand, a nation of nearly five million people, has seen fewer than 2700 cases and only 26 deaths.”<\/p>\n
It’s not the first time Ardern has placed highly on Fortune’s list: In 2019 she placed second behind Bill and Melinda Gates.<\/p>\n
The Gateses do not feature in the top 50 list in 2021.<\/p>\n
Ardern placed ahead of the “mRNA Pioneers” \u2013 the scientist behind the development of the Covid-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n
She was also ahead of the likes of NFL superstar Tom Brady, human rights icon Malala Yousafzai and quirky cooking show frontman Guy Fieri.<\/p>\n
“Jacinda Ardern had already sealed her position as a great leader early in her premiership of New Zealand, by empathetically steering her country through the aftermath of a terror attack and the deadly eruption of a volcano,” Fortune said.<\/p>\n
Ardern’s decision that her, and her Cabinet ministers would take a six-month, 20 per cent pay cut in 2020 to “show solidarity with people who had lost their livelihoods” due to Covid-19 was another reason behind her number one ranking.<\/p>\n
“She has also adopted world-leading climate and gender-equity policies.<\/p>\n
“And last year, Ardern’s administration made it easier for women to negotiate with their employers for more equitable pay.”<\/p>\n
This is Fortune’s eighth annual list of the world’s greatest leaders.<\/p>\n
The 2021 list focused heavily on the response to Covid-19 and how people showed leadership through the crisis.<\/p>\n
“These individuals rose to meet the challenges of the pandemic, social and economic upheaval,” Fortune said.<\/p>\n
“Many countries besides the US were slow to confront the new reality of Covid-19. By contrast, the administration of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern began screening arriving airline passengers from China in January 2020, before the disease had a name.”<\/p>\n