A diplomat with iwi affiliations to the Whanganui River and Taranaki has been appointed high commissioner to Malaysia.
Michael (Mike) Walsh is New Zealand’s ambassador to Iran and accredited high commissioner to Pakistan. He also has responsibilities for Afghanistan.
Walsh, who has iwi links to Ōtaki and Te Whanganui-a-Tara, joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1993.
From 2011-2014, he was New Zealand’s high commissioner to Kiribati and ambassador to Palau, Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.
He has also served as deputy head of mission in Samoa, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
He presented his credentials to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran in November 2021 and to Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi in Islamabad in February 2022.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said Walsh earlier worked in roles in Wellington that advanced key priorities in foreign policy, trade, indigenous development, environment, the Pacific, and international cooperation.
In 2020, he served as a response manager in the Ministry’s Emergency Coordination Centre followed by a secondment to the Ministry of Business as part of the Covid-19 epidemic response.
Born in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Walsh said he was proud of his heritage and tribal links.
He served for five years as a financial director for one of his tribes’ asset investment groups, and in 1992 was the assistant secretary on the National Māori Congress.
Walsh is the brother of Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata, the mātaiwhetū/chief executive of Whanganui hauora health provider Te Oranganui.
Married with four children and four grandchildren, Walsh has a BA in history, a masters in development studies, and a post graduate Ddiploma in Māori development from Massey University.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced the appointment last week. Six other senior diplomats were appointed at the same time to overseas missions.
The appointments are: Andrew Williams as ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna; Deborah Geels as permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva; Sarah Ireland as ambassador to Mexico; Jonathan Curr as high commissioner to Solomon Islands; Michael Zhang as consul-general in Guangzhou; Matthew Hawkins as high Ccommissioner to Nauru (based in Wellington).
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
