Jacinda Ardern given a top New Zealand honor for her service during shooting, pandemic

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has received one of the country’s highest honors for her leadership during a mass shooting and pandemic. On Monday, Ardern was made a Dame Grand Companion, which is the second-highest honor in New Zealand. It means people will now call her Dame Jacinda.

Ardern was just 37 when she became prime minister in 2017 and was seen as a global icon of the left. She shocked New Zealanders in January when said she was stepping down as leader because she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do it justice.

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