List of high commissioners of New Zealand to the United Kingdom

Sir Jerry Mateparae, former High Commissioner

The High Commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom is New Zealand's foremost diplomatic representative in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and in charge of New Zealand's diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom.

History[]

The High Commission of New Zealand is located in London, the United Kingdom's capital city. New Zealand has maintained a resident High Commissioner in the United Kingdom since 1905, and a resident Agent-General since 1871. The High Commissioner to the United Kingdom is concurrently accredited as High Commissioner to Nigeria.

The High Commissioner was formerly accredited as , which is now a resident mission in Dublin since 2018.

As New Zealand was created as a part of the British Empire, its diplomatic relationship with the United Kingdom is its longest-standing; the position of High Commissioner in London pre-dates New Zealand's Dominion status by two years, the Balfour Declaration of 1926 by 21 years, and the adoption of the Statute of Westminster of 1931 by 42 years. New Zealand appointed a High Commissioner to Canada in 1942, and a High Commissioner to Australia in 1943.

As fellow members of the Commonwealth of Nations, diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the United Kingdom are at governmental level, rather than between Heads of State, with member countries exchanging High Commissioners, rather than Ambassadors.

List of heads of mission[]

The following individuals have held the office:^[1]

No.	Name	Portrait	Term of office		Monarch
1	Hon. Dr Isaac Earl Featherston[nb 1]		March 1871	September 1876	Victoria
2	Rt Hon. Sir Julius Vogel		September 1876	December 1880
3	Hon. Sir Dillon Bell		December 1880	September 1891
4	Sir Westby Perceval		September 1891	December 1895
5	Hon. William Pember Reeves[nb 2]		December 1895	December 1908
					Edward VII
6	Hon. Sir William Hall-Jones		December 1908	August 1912
					George V
7	Rt Hon. Sir Thomas Mackenzie		August 1912	August 1920
8	Hon. Sir James Allen		August 1920	January 1926
9	Hon. Sir James Parr		January 1926	1930
10	Hon. Sir Thomas Wilford		1930	1935
(9)	Hon. Sir James Parr		1935	3 September 1936
					Edward VIII
11	Rt Hon. Sir Bill Jordan		3 September 1936	17 September 1951
					George VI
12	Hon. Sir Frederick Doidge		17 September 1951	26 May 1954†
					Elizabeth II
13	Hon. Sir Clifton Webb		4 January 1955	31 March 1958
-	Dr Dick Campbell (acting)		1 April 1958	30 September 1958
-	George Laking       (acting)		30 September 1958	20 March 1961
14	Hon. Sir Thomas Macdonald		20 March 1961	May 1968
15	Sir Denis Blundell		May 1968	August 1972
-	Merv Norrish       (acting)		August 1972	15 March 1973
16	Hon. Terry McCombs		15 March 1973	22 March 1975
17	Rt Hon. Hugh Watt, PC, JP		22 March 1975	21 June 1976
18	Hon. Sir Douglas Carter		21 June 1976	16 July 1979
19	Hon. Les Gandar		16 July 1979	27 September 1982
20	Hon. Bill Young		27 September 1982	21 February 1985
21	Hon. Joe Walding		21 February 1985	5 June 1985†
22	Bryce Harland		15 October 1985	3 June 1991
23	Hon. George Gair		3 June 1991	April 1994
24	John Collinge		April 1994	1 May 1997
25			1 May 1997	4 January 1999
26	Rt Hon. Paul East, QC, PC		4 January 1999	4 January 2002
27	Hon. Russell Marshall		4 January 2002	4 January 2005
28	Rt Hon. Jonathan Hunt, PC		April 2005	March 2008
29	Derek Leask		March 2008	February 2013
30	Rt Hon. Sir Lockwood Smith		25 March 2013	24 March 2017
31	Rt Hon. Sir Jerry Mateparae		24 March 2017	April 2020
32			April 2020	Incumbent

Table footnotes:

See also[]

• List of High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to New Zealand

References[]