In the beginning

1940s and 50s

Prior to the 1940s, New Zealand’s foreign affairs were handled by the United Kingdom, and we had few bilateral relationships with other countries.

The New Zealand Government was represented in London by an Agent-General from 1871 to 1905 and subsequently by a High Commissioner.

The Second World War made it important for New Zealand to develop its own international partnerships with other countries and join multilateral organisations. To improve coordination with allies during the Second World War, New Zealand established several new posts: Washington DC in 1941, Ottawa in 1942, Canberra in 1943, and a legation in the Soviet Union in 1944, which closed in 1950.

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 coordinated diplomacy.

In 1945, New Zealand played an active role in the negotiation of the UN Charter, including advocating for the rights of smaller powers to participate as equals. When a UN Mission was established in New York, the New Zealand ambassador to Washington was also designated a UN permanent representative.

In 1947, a resident trade representative was appointed in Japan, followed by the establishment of legations² in Paris (1949) and The Hague (1950). By the late 1950s, these three posts, along with Washington, had been upgraded to embassies.

² A legation was a diplomatic office ranked below an embassy.

In the mid-1950s, New Zealand accepted a general commitment to collective security in South East Asia and recognised economic opportunities in the region.

From 1955 to 1961, a string of new missions opened in Asia.

Finding our feet

1960s, 70s and 80s

In 1961, the United Kingdom announced its intention to enter the European Economic Community, prompting New Zealand to diversify its export markets. 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.

When Samoa obtained its independence from New Zealand in 1962, it became the first Pacific Island state to host a New Zealand diplomatic post. A post was established in the Cook Islands in 1965 after it obtained self-government from New Zealand, becoming New Zealand's second mission in the South Pacific.

Our place in the world

1990s, 2000s and 2010s

The early 1990s were a time of substantial reorganisation of New Zealand's diplomatic missions, with 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 a post in Bahrain was shut shortly afterwards. The end of apartheid resulted in a decision to move New Zealand's post in Zimbabwe to South Africa. In South America, New Zealand's embassy in Peru was also closed, but missions were opened in Brazil and Argentina.

Times were changing at the turn of the century with capitalism spreading and the cold war thawing. Germany was starting to show strength and influence in Europe and New Zealand shifted its post from Bonn to Berlin.

New Zealand opened a post in Dili in 2000 following Timor Leste’s independence and subsequent support of New Zealand’s various stability and security operations. New Zealand also operated a post in Kabul with a Resident Ambassador from 2010-2014 to support the Provincial Reconstruction Teams and International Security Assistance Force missions.

By 2010 other foreign missions were looking at changing to a hub and spoke operating model. The Ministry adopted an approach to ensure that our offshore presence is flexible and responsive to emerging opportunities, including for NZ Inc agencies. This has included developing new connections in new geographies to achieve economic and security objectives for New Zealand. Following changes to our own operating model in 2012, our network expanded rapidly, with six new posts opening in two years: Addis Ababa, Bridgetown, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Honolulu and Yangon.

New Zealand re-opened its post in Baghdad in 2015 in a co-location arrangement with Australia to support New Zealand's non-combat training mission to Iraq. A post in Bogotá was opened in February 2018 to help New Zealand develop business links in Colombia in what is one of the strongest performing economies in South America. The newest posts in the network are Dublin, Ireland and Stockholm, Sweden, which opened in November 2018 to further strengthen the close relationships.