Jacinda Ardern has released a touching tribute to her own mother, Laurell, on Mother's Day.
"Just when you thought you couldn't be any more grateful for your mum than you already are, you have your own child and your appreciation for your own mum keeps growing with every day that passes," she wrote on Facebook.
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"Happy Mother's Day to all the mums, mums of mums, mums being mums by themselves, and all those who play mum for those who need one.
"I feel incredibly grateful to those who help me be a mother, but I'm especially grateful for my own."
It's the Prime Minister's first Mother's Day as a mum since giving birth to her daughter, Neve Te Aroha Ardern-Gayford.
She told Newshub that one of the most important lessons she's learnt is to appreciate mothers more - in particular her own mum.
"[I've learnt] that you appreciate your mum more than you ever believe you could when you have your own child," she said on Saturday.
"I couldn't do life without her."
She also shared how caring for her daughter, has influenced her leadership.
Having always advocated for a kind Government, Ardern said becoming a mother has "amplified" her desire to be a leader "driven by kindness and empathy".
"To me, leadership is not about necessarily being the loudest in the room, but instead being the bridge, or the thing that is missing in the discussion and trying to build a consensus from there," she told Newshub.
"I guess that can somewhat be applied to mother, as you are constantly doing whatever it is that your little one needs at that particular moment."
Newshub.
