Chris Hipkins was sworn in as the prime minister of New Zealand by the governor general of New Zealand at a ceremony in Wellington.
After taking office, Hipkins said that this is the biggest privilege and responsibility of my life. I am excited and energised by the challenges ahead. Jacinda Ardern said last week that she no longer had enough in the tank after steering the country through natural disasters, its worst terror attack and Covid-19 Pandemic.
Her Labour government has struggled in the polls for the past two years, hampered by soaring inflation, a looming recession and a resurgent conservative opposition.
She made her last public appearance as prime minister earlier on Wednesday, walking out of parliament as hundreds of onlookers broke into a spontaneous round of applause.
Hipkins, the architect of New Zealand's pandemic response, is now tasked with reviving the government's popularity ahead of a general election in October.
The father-of-two is nicknamed Chippy and describes himself as a regular, ordinary Kiwi from a working-class background who loves sausage rolls and cycling to work.
Covid 19 and the global pandemic created a health crisis. Hipkins said that the government s focus will be on an economic one and that's where it's going to be.