ing:

Friday 12 January 2024 11.55 pm through Turnitin

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Background:

The Covid-19 pandemic brought worldwide disruption, illness, death, and economic disarray over the past several years. This meant that political, business and health leaders had to make complex decisions in what has been an unprecedented crisis in modern times. Decision making in a crisis has

particular challenges and different leaders and countries addressed these challenges in often contrasting ways.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Arder received wide-spread coverage in world media during her more than five years as Prime Minister from October 2017 to January 2023. Ardern was described as possessing "solace and steel" after her response to the Christchurch mosque killings in March 2019. Later that year after the White Island eruption that killed 22 tourists she was again hailed world-wide for her disaster response.

The onset of the Covid-19 world pandemic brought renewed focus on Ardern's leadership as she led

New Zealand into a time of lockdown well before the country's metrics on the virus were at a contained level. Successfully leading through a crisis demands a certain skillset that Ardern has been argued to possess. Over the past two years Arden's leadership has continued to receive global focus and is often not just compared but also contrasted with other leaders' styles and approaches during the crisis.