CNN
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New Zealand’s education minister, Chris Hipkins, is looking to replace Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after her shocking resignation announcement earlier this week.
Hipkins appeared as: The sole candidate nominated for leader of the ruling Labor Party on Saturday morning.
The Labor party’s caucuses will meet on Sunday to formally endorse and confirm Hipkins as party leader, said party leader Duncan Webb.
New Zealand’s next general election is scheduled for October 14th.
A career politician who became an MP in 2008, Mr. Hipkins has become a well-known figure to lead New Zealand’s pandemic management as Minister of Covid-19 Response in the Ardern Cabinet. Besides being Minister of Education, he is also Minister of Police and Public Affairs and Speaker of the House of Commons.
Speaking to reporters after nominations closed at 9 a.m. local time in Wellington’s capital Wellington, he said he was aiming to reach agreement on who “is best to lead the Labor Party and thus move New Zealand forward”. said there is.
“I am absolutely humbled and honored,” he said, adding, “This process will still take some time.
The minister thanked party members and said, “We have gone through this process in solidarity and will continue to do so.”
He promised to lead the country in a “strong, stable and united” way, but warned of challenges ahead.
“At the moment, we are experiencing economic turmoil and we recognize that we must navigate through it,” he said.
Hipkins told reporters he was “incredibly optimistic about New Zealand’s future” and “I’m really looking forward to this job. I feel the energy and enthusiasm.”
He served as Covid-19 response minister for almost two years in a country that kept infections and deaths relatively low after closing its borders. He also oversaw New Zealand’s phased reopening before fully resuming all international travel last July.
Ardern said on Thursday that she did not believe she had the energy to seek re-election and said she would run for a new leader.
At a press conference at the time, Ardern said her term would end by February 7, and had expected a new Labor prime minister to take office, but “it could be sooner, depending on the process.
Hipkins said Ardern’s tenure was terrorist attacknatural disasters, and a global pandemic – was the “leader we needed in a time of need.”
And he admitted that, like Ardern, making his name public would expose him to “a lot of scrutiny and a lot of criticism.”
“I’m approaching this task with my eyes wide open and knowing what I’ve stepped into,” Hipkins said.
