She carefully guided NSW through the darkest days of the pandemic.
But at a time Gladys Berejiklian should be enjoying the freedoms she worked so hard to deliver, she instead finds her reputation under the microscope in the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
And the gloves are off.
The ICAC has been attempting to chip away, day by day, at her reputation, but has yet to deliver a 'smoking gun' that will justify the biggest political shock of 2021 - Ms Berejiklian's resignation as premier of Australia's most populous state.
Commission counsel Scott Robertson SC, unlike some of his ICAC predecessors, speaks softly. But he carries a big stick - his words are specific, pointed and laser-like in their focus.
And that focus is all on Ms Berejiklian.
Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is being investigated by the Independent Committee Against Corruption in Sydney
The ICAC is investigating if she was 'liable to allow or encourage the occurrence of corrupt conduct' by former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire, with whom she was in a 'close personal relationship' between 2015 and 2018.
It's also looking into whether she 'exercised her official functions dishonestly or partially' by not reporting any reasonable suspicions about Mr Maguire to the ICAC.
Finding out who knew what and when they knew it has been front and centre in the first week of ICAC's hearings. There is at least another week to go, and possibly more, because some witnesses' testimony took longer than anticipated.
Former premier Mike Baird has already given evidence, as has NSW deputy leader of the Liberal Party, Stuart Ayres and a number of senior public servants, while reams of emails, documents and memos have been entered into evidence - including one from senior adviser, Nigel Blunden who authored the now infamous 'WTF' memo.
All of the first week's proceedings were, and most of this week's will be, meticulous scene setting before the big event – Ms Berejiklian's appearance before the commission on Thursday and Friday.
Bit by bit, Mr Robertson's questions and the witnesses' answers have been an attempt to peel away layers of Teflon that perhaps previously surrounded Ms Berejiklian.
It has at times been excruciating, not least for the former premier, who is again seeing her private and public life scrutinised in minute detail.
Most galling of all for the former premier, is that none of this was necessary.
If she had declared there was a potential conflict of interest in her relationship with Mr Maguire, she could have recused herself from funding meetings concerning projects of interest to him.
Why she did not do so is likely to haunt her.
After all, she had previously declared two of her cousins worked for the NSW public service and even disclosed meeting someone at a function.
More to the point, declaring a potential conflict of interest was something the then state premier Mike Baird expected and called for at every cabinet meeting, as ICAC heard this week.
Australians not familiar with the events leading up to the ICAC hearings may have been shocked by the evidence they heard this week.
But for those who closely follow NSW politics, the only surprise is that anyone is surprised.
On Monday, October 12, 2020, Ms Berejiklian told an ICAC inquiry into former Liberal MP for Wagga Wagga that she had been in a secret 'close personal relationship' with him for years.
This was shocking; a genuine bombshell revelation. It seemed that no one beyond Gladys and Daryl knew about the clandestine affair.
Well, no one but the ICAC investigators, who were tapping Mr Maguire's phone calls.
One of those recordings entered into evidence on the same day Ms Berejiklian admitted her relationship with Mr Maguire featured the pair discussing a business deal.
'I don't need to know about that bit,' the then premier of NSW said to her then partner.
Most reports that evening were variations on 'the political future of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian hangs in the balance'. From political pundits to the women and men looking at their phones on a bus or train, many may have wondered whether she would survive the revelations.
But they didn't reckon with the premier's steely resolve to cling to power.
She immediately confessed all to the media, doing interviews that centred on the narrative that she was a good woman who'd been dragged into a awkward situation by a bad boyfriend.
The general public sympathised with her and thought she was just unlucky in love. What woman hadn't been in the same boat themselves, or at least knew someone who had? And what kind of man would you be if you didn't wish her all the best after she admitted what she said was a mistake?
But it wouldn't have been enough if it wasn't for a five letter word that has dominated everyone's lives for almost two years. Covid.
