New Zealand diplomatic missions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is responsible for nearly fifty embassies and consulates globally. The country is particuarly active in the South Pacific, as well as in Asia and South America where New Zealand is expanding its commercial reach. There is also an extensive number of honorary consulates who represent New Zealand.
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[edit] Current posts
New Zealand currently maintains embassies and high commissions in 40 countries around the world. It also maintains a number of consulates, and has a substantial number of honorary consuls. Approximately one third of New Zealand's foreign affairs personnel are serving abroad at any given time, typically for rotations of three or four years.
[edit] Bilateral
The map below shows the location of New Zealand's embassies and high commissions around the world, indicating the country or countries for which each is responsible.
The table below lists those countries in which there is a New Zealand embassy. If an embassy is responsible for relations with more than one country, the secondary countries are listed beside it, along with any posts that might exist in those countries. Posts staffed by honorary consuls rather than New Zealand diplomatic personnel are shown in italics.
There is also a Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei. It is not officially considered an embassy, because New Zealand does not recognise the Republic of China (Taiwan), but it serves many of the same functions.
[edit] Multilateral
New Zealand also maintains five permanent representations to various multi-national organisations. These posts do not have any role in normal state-to-state relations — the post in Vienna, for example, should not be mistaken for an embassy to the Austrian government.
| Location of post | Organisations to which the post represents NZ |
|---|---|
| Brussels |  European Union |
| Geneva |  United NationsWorld Trade Organisation Conference for Disarmament |
| New York | United Nations |
| Paris | United Nations (UNESCO) OECD |
| Vienna | United Nations |
[edit] Former posts
| Embassy or High Commission | Opened | Closed | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
Vienna | 1974 | 1990 — closed as part of general re-organisation |
 Bahrain |
Manama | 1984 | 1993 — closed, with functions effectively transferred to new embassy in Riyadh |
 Germany |
Bonn | 1966 | 1999 — moved to Berlin |
 Greece |
Athens | 1964 | 1991 — closed as part of general re-organisation |
 Iraq |
Baghdad | 1983 | 1990 — closed due to the Gulf War |
 Peru |
Lima | 1973 | 1990 — closed |
 South Vietnam |
Saigon | 1963 | 1975 — closed with the defeat of South Vietnam |
 Zimbabwe |
Harare | 1986 | 2000 — closed, with functions effectively transferred to embassy in Pretoria |
[edit] History
[edit] Origins
New Zealand independence was a gradual process, and the establishment of an independent New Zealand diplomatic service was similarly gradual. At first, New Zealand's foreign affairs were handled by the United Kingdom, and the only diplomacy conducted by the colonial government in New Zealand was negotiations with the British authorities. Relations between New Zealand and Britain were handled by an Agent-General in London, with the first being appointed in 1871. The title was changed to High Commissioner in 1905, reflecting the increasing autonomy of New Zealand.
It was not until World War II, however, that New Zealand sent permanent diplomatic missions to other countries. To facilitate co-ordination of the war effort New Zealand established several posts in countries with which it was allied — the first was a legation in the United States in 1941. In 1942 and 1943, high commissions were opened in Canada and Australia, respectively, and in 1944, a legation was established in the Soviet Union. The latter was considered a striking departure from New Zealand's previous diplomatic activities — enthusiasm for the post was strongest in the governing Labour Party, and the opposition National Party later made its closure one of their campaign policies.
The opening of these posts prompted New Zealand to establish its own foreign ministry, the Department of External Affairs. Created by the External Affairs Act in June 1943, the new Department incorporated an older office of the same name (dealing with island territories) and those sections of the Prime Minister's office which had previously co-ordinated diplomacy.
- Openings
- 1871 — London
- 1941 — Washington
- 1942 — Ottawa
- 1943 — Canberra
- 1944 — Moscow
[edit] Post-war expansion
Although the establishment of diplomatic posts had been spurred by the war, the network continued to grow as New Zealand's foreign policy became more and more autonomous.
In 1947, a resident trade representative was appointed in Japan, followed by the establishment of legations in France (1949) and the Netherlands (1950). By the late 1950s, these three posts, along with Washington, had been upgraded to embassies — this was part of the growing international trend away from legations. The Moscow post, meanwhile, was closed in 1950 by the new National Party government.From 1955 to 1961, a string of new missions opened in Asia — Singapore, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. When Samoa obtained its independence from New Zealand in 1962, it became the first Pacific Island state to host a New Zealand diplomatic post.
The mid-1960s saw a cluster of new posts opening in Europe, with new missions in Belgium, Greece, Germany, and Italy. A post was also opened in South Vietnam due to the ongoing conflict there, although this did not last beyond the end of the Vietnam War. A post was established in the Cook Islands after they obtained self-government from New Zealand, becoming New Zealand's second mission in the south Pacific.
- Openings
- Closures
- 1950 — Moscow
[edit] 1970s and 1980s
The 1970s and 1980s were a time of continued expansion for the New Zealand diplomatic network. In 1973, the Labour government of Norman Kirk opened embassies in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. There was also expansion into Latin America, with posts in Chile and Peru, and a decade later in Mexico. In Asia, posts were opened in South Korea and the Philippines, but the post in South Vietnam closed due to the loss of the Vietnam War. The post in India was closed in 1982, but re-opened a few years later.
In the Pacific, New Zealand's representation was expanded substantially — posts were opened in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Kiribati as they became independent, in Niue after it obtained self-government from New Zealand, and in Tonga and Vanuatu. New Zealand also expanded into the Middle East, with posts opening in Iran and Bahrain in the 1970s. This carried over into the 1980s with new posts in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Slight expansion took place elsewhere — a post was opened in Austria, and New Zealand's first full diplomatic post in Africa (discounting a short-lived trade commission in Ghana) was opened in Zimbabwe.
- Openings
[edit] 1990s and the new millennium
The early 1990s were a time of substantial reorganisation of New Zealand's diplomatic missions, and saw a number of closures. A substantial redistribution of New Zealand's European resources took place — posts in Greece and Austria were closed, while a new post was established in Spain. New Zealand's post in Iraq was closed due to the Gulf War, and the post in Bahrain was shut shortly afterwards — the post in Saudi Arabia assumed most of their duties, aided by a new post in Turkey. The end of apartheid in resulted in a decision to move New Zealand's post in Zimbabwe to South Africa. New Zealand's embassy in Peru was also closed, leaving the post in Chile as New Zealand's only representation in South America.
In the later half of the 1990s, a period of expansion began — new posts were opened in Vietnam and Argentina, followed in the new millennium by posts in Brazil, newly-independent East Timor, and Poland. In late 2006, a new embassy in Egypt began operations, although will not be officially opened until early 2007.
- Openings
- Closures
- Moves
[edit] Milestones
First posts by type
- First mission — London, United Kingdom (1871), headed by Isaac Featherston
- First High Commission — London, United Kingdom (1905), headed by William Pember Reeves
- First Legation — Washington, United States (1941), headed by Walter Nash
- First Embassy — Washington, United States (1948), headed by Carl Berendsen
First posts by location
- First post outside Britain — Washington, USA (1941)
- First post in a non-English-speaking country — Moscow, USSR (1944)
- First post in Asia — Tokyo, Japan (1949)
- First post in an Islamic country — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1959)
- First post in a Pacific Island country — Apia, Samoa (1962)
- First post in South America — Santiago, Chile (1973)
- First post in the Middle East — Tehran, Iran (1975)
- First post in an Arab country — Manama, Bahrain (1977)
- First post in Africa — Harare, Zimbabwe (1986), unless a short-lived trade commission in Ghana in the 1960s is counted
Heads of mission
- First Māori head of mission — Charles Bennett, High Commissioner to Malaya (1958)
- First female head of mission — Jean McKenzie, Minister to France (1955)
- First female ambassador — Barbara Angus, Ambassador to the Philippines (1978)
[edit] See also
- Foreign relations of New Zealand
- List of diplomatic posts in New Zealand
- List of Ambassadors and High Commissioners to and from New Zealand
