David Ross Ardern (born 28 February 1954) is a New Zealand diplomat and former police officer. He was the Administrator of

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

from 2018 to 2022, having previously served as the High Commissioner of New Zealand to

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

from 2014 to 2018, and as Niue's police commissioner from 2005 to 2009.

Biography

Ardern joined the

New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

in 1974, initially training at the

Royal New Zealand Police College The Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) is the central training institution for police recruits and police officers in New Zealand. It is located at Papakowhai, approximately 2 km north of Porirua City. Recruits at the college under ...

at Trentham, and was one of the police officers who carried out the Dawn Raids on Pacific Island families in the 1970s. In his 40-year police career he spent about 20 years in the

Criminal Investigation Branch The Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) is one of the main branches of the New Zealand Police and it is dedicated to investigating and solving serious crime, and targeting organized crime and recidivist criminals. The CIB has existed since the ...

and five years as Matamata–Piako area sub-commander. In 2002 Ardern received a Commissioner's Commendation for his work in the line of duty while investigating a robbery, kidnapping and sexual assault case in 1999. He successfully negotiated for three hours with a man armed with a

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. Ardern was appointed Commissioner of Police for the Pacific island of Niue in 2005 for a two-year term, which was extended to four years. During this time he was chair of the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police for one year. He also served as Niue's director of prisons and director of immigration. Ardern served as New Zealand Police liaison officer for the South Pacific, based in Samoa, from 2009 to 2013. In October 2013, Ardern was named by Minister of Foreign Affairs

Murray McCully Murray Stuart McCully (born 19 February 1953) is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017. Early life Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Ar ...

as the next High Commissioner of New Zealand to Niue. He took up the post in February 2014. On 15 December 2017, the Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician serving as the leader of New Zealand First since its foundation in 1993. Peters served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1996 to 1998 and 2017 to 2020 ...

, announced that Ardern would be the next Administrator of

, from early 2018. Ardern is the father of the

New Zealand Prime Minister The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...

. He is a practising member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). His twin brother, Ian, is a general authority of the LDS Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardern, Ross New Zealand people of English descent 1950s births Living people New Zealand Latter Day Saints New Zealand police officers High Commissioners of New Zealand to Niue Jacinda Ardern Parents of prime ministers of New Zealand Chiefs of police People educated at Royal New Zealand Police College