All About Chris Hipkins, Next New Zealand PM Who Led Covid Crackdown
NDTV
Chris Hipkins was admonished by Jacinda Ardern in 2017 after he was accused of playing a role in a dual citizenship scandal in Australian parliament.
Poised to be New Zealand's next prime minister, Chris Hipkins became a household name leading the nation's closed-border crackdown on COVID-19 and is seen as a "tough and capable" politician.
The 44-year-old police and education minister emerged Saturday as his Labour Party's sole contender to replace Jacinda Ardern following her shock resignation barely 48 hours earlier. He is to be formally endorsed for the job Sunday.
Hipkins won plaudits for his near two-year term as the Covid response minister in a country that shut its borders to keep the coronavirus out, only fully reopening to the outside world in August last year.
He later conceded that rolling lockdowns were "tough going" and said they had to be eased as people wearied of the restrictions.
