Chris Hopkins has been sworn in as the 41st Prime Minister of New Zealand.
The 44-year-old was officially appointed to the role in Wellington a week after Jacinda Ardern resigned.
Ms Ardern, 42, said she no longer had “enough in the tank” to lead the country. The country’s governor-general, Cindy Caro, accepted her formal resignation on Wednesday.
Mr Hopkins rose to fame as the minister who led New Zealand’s Covid-19 strategy.
At the ruling Labor Party caucus at the weekend, Mr Hopkins won unanimous support to be promoted to the country’s leadership, and now faces the daunting task of retaining power in the next general election in October.
Opinion polls suggest his party is lagging behind its conservative opposition National Party in popularity.
The country of 5 million was among the first countries to close its borders. The move won praise for keeping New Zealand virus-free at the start of the pandemic, but later sparked frustration among Kiwis fed up with the zero-tolerance strategy, which saw a nationwide lockdown over a single infection. .
Mr Hopkins has previously admitted that the strict lockdown should have been eased earlier.
More recently, Mr Hopkins also held the heavy ministerial portfolios of education, police and public service.
The father-of-two said his commitment and politics is to “make sure we provide opportunities for all Kiwis who want to work hard, are able to work hard and get ahead and to provide a better life for themselves and their families,” according to Reuters.
He will hold the first cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Ms Ardern ended her final day in office with politicians and Maori elders visiting Ratna, a small town north of Wellington. She said she was ready to be a backbench MP, a sister and a mother.
