Chris Hipkins is the new Prime Minister of New Zealand

Chris Hipkins is its 41st Prime Minister New Zealandas he was elected leader of the Labor Party, replacing Jacinda Ardern, who resigned on Thursday.

The 44-year-old Hipkins he was the only candidate for the position and his election by the party was mostly a formality.

“This is the greatest privilege and the greatest responsibility of my life”he said. “I feel a lot of energy and excitement from the challenges ahead of me”he added.

Hipkins chose Carmel Sepuloni as deputy prime ministerthe first woman of Pacific descent to hold the position.

Known by the nickname “Chippy”, Hipkins rose to fame thanks to his successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic and he was one of the ministers in the Ardern government best able to deal with the problems that arose.

He was first elected to parliament in 2008, but found himself in the spotlight as the face of the government during the pandemic. He was appointed health minister in July 2020, before becoming minister responsible for covid management at the end of the same year.

Sepuloni, 46, is originally from Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand and lives in Auckland, and has served as Minister for Social Development and Disability Affairs, as well as Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.

Hipkins indicated that the rest of his cabinet will be announced at a later date.

Before Hipkins becomes prime minister, Ardern will hand in her resignation to King Charles’ representative to New Zealand, Governor-General Cindy Kiro, who will appoint Hipkins.

New Zealand’s new prime minister is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.