In the hours after the shooting, she wore a black head scarf while comforting victims’ families, embracing and grieving alongside them.

When President Trump asked her what he could to to help, she responded: “Sympathy and love for all Muslim communities.”

And on Wednesday, just six days after a man gunned down worshipers in two New Zealand mosques, killing 50, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made a swift gesture: banning military-style semiautomatic weapons.

“We are one, they are us,” she said of her country’s Muslims, many of whom are migrants or refugees. That unifying cry has become a symbol of her response.

In the aftermath of the massacre, Ardern h as strayed from the usual post-attack script — drawing international praise for her ability to mix empathy with concrete action, shaping her path as a compassionate but defiant and decisive leader.