Jacinda Ardern’s fiancé pays romantic tribute as the New Zealand PM is sworn in again

Jacinda Ardern‘s fiancé posted a loving tribute after she was worn into office as New Zealand‘s Prime Minister for the second time.

Clarke Gayford watched on with pride as Ms Ardern was officially sworn in by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy at Government House in Wellington on Friday. 

Ms Ardern’s parents and sister, along with members of her partner’s family also attended the official ceremony.

‘Was nice having both our families in town for the official appointment of the new government this morning,’ Mr Gayford captioned a photo of the couple shared to Instagram. 

‘While the last three years have been a bit of a blur there are still moments like this where I wonder how on earth I ended up here hitched to the Jacinda Ardern express.’ 

Ms Ardern also posted a photo with her parents Ross and Laurell and sister Louise outside the Beehive as an Instagram story.

‘My family,’ she captioned the snap. 

Ms Ardern and her ministers were joined by their families and close staff when they were sworn in by the governor-general.

She was flanked by MP Nanaia Mahuta for the singing of the karanga, an element of cultural protocol of the Māori people, before the ceremony. 

For the first time, the ceremony included a traditional Maori welcome and prayer – a karanga and a karakia.

Ministers also received their warrants of appointment in te reo Maori, the country’s indigenous language, for the first time. 

Ms Mahuta acquired a Māori facial tattoo (Tā moko) in 2016 and became the first female MP to wear one in the New Zealand parliament. 

In another first, she was sworn in as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Friday – becoming the first woman to hold the position in New Zealand. 

New Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson is the country’s first openly gay man to hold the position.

Ms Ardern’s Labour Party won in a landslide with 49 per cent of the party vote in the New Zealand general election last month, which is the first time a party has won enough seats to govern alone since 1996. 

Ms Ardern first met Mr Gayford at an awards event in 2012 but didn’t begin dating until the following year.

The couple welcomed the arrival of daughter Neve Te Aroha in June 2018. 

Ms Ardern confirmed in April 2019 her partner popped the question over the Easter break after she was spotted wearing what appeared to be an engagement ring on her left hand.

The proposal took place with a beautiful backdrop at the top of Mokotahi Hill in Mahia on North Island’s east coast with a ring that belonged to Mr Gayford’s grandmother.

‘It was Clarke, myself, a member of the DPS (Diplomatic Protection Squad), a couple of locals from Mahia and a dog which tried to eat the chocolate that Clarke bought me at the same time, so it was very romantic,’ she told reporters in May 2019.

 She was reluctant to spill any more details.

‘There are some things I don’t mind keeping for ourselves,’ Ms Ardern said.

‘This is a very public job and I’m quite happy to put quite a bit of ourselves out there. But there are some things I wouldn’t mind keeping to ourselves.’

Ms Ardern was only the second elected female leader to have a child while in office and the first since Benazier Bhutto in 1990.