The Dalai Lama has become the latest world figure to praise Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for her response to the Christchurch terror attacks.
The Tibetan spiritual leader told reporters in New Delhi, India, that he admired Ardern for her empathy in the face of hatred.
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"I really admire the New Zealand Prime Minister. She is wonderful," he said, after addressing a conference of educators and students.
"She really tried to tackle this problem through nonviolence, through compassion and through mutual respect. I really admire her."
He went on to say that her reaction to the attack, which killed 50 people, helped stop any chance of violent reprisals.
The Dalai Lama is not the only notable world leader to pay tribute to Ardern since the attack.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was impressed with "the way [Ardern] responded to hate with love, and to violence with peace".
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said world leaders could learn from her "courage, leadership and sincerity" while United Arab Emirates Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, thanked her for her "sincere empathy".
Celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon and Anna Paquin have been outspoken in praising Ardern and the world's press have been similarly flattering.
"She promptly labelled the worst peacetime mass killing in New Zealand as terrorism, and set about reassuring a nation that has been largely unscathed by the violence and fears that have afflicted other countries in the past two decades," Reuters reported.
The New York Times wrote that Ardern's vision of kindness in politics has been tested by the worst mass murder in New Zealand's modern history.
Newshub.
