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.
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 ambassador of New Zealand to Ireland, 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.
The following individuals have held the office: [1]
| No. | Name | Portrait | Term of office | Monarch | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isaac Featherston [nb 1] |  | March 1871 | September 1876 | Victoria | |
| 2 | Julius Vogel |  | September 1876 | December 1880 | ||
| 3 | Dillon Bell |  | December 1880 | September 1891 | ||
| 4 | Westby Perceval |  | September 1891 | December 1895 | ||
| 5 | William Pember Reeves [nb 2] |  | December 1895 | December 1908 | ||
| Edward VII | ||||||
| 6 | William Hall-Jones |  | December 1908 | August 1912 | ||
| George V | ||||||
| 7 | Thomas Mackenzie |  | August 1912 | 19 June 1920 | ||
| 8 | James Allen |  | 19 June 1920 | 1 July 1926 | ||
| 9 | James Parr |  | 1 July 1926 | 9 January 1930 | ||
| 10 | Thomas Wilford |  | 9 January 1930 | 25 January 1934 | ||
| (9) | James Parr | | 25 January 1934 | 3 September 1936 | ||
| Edward VIII | ||||||
| 11 | Bill Jordan |  | 3 September 1936 | 17 September 1951 | ||
| George VI | ||||||
| 12 | Frederick Doidge |  | 17 September 1951 | 26 May 1954† | ||
| Elizabeth II | ||||||
| 13 | Clifton Webb |  | 4 January 1955 | 31 March 1958 | ||
| - | Dick Campbell (acting) |  | 1 April 1958 | 30 September 1958 | ||
| - | George Laking (acting) |  | 30 September 1958 | 20 March 1961 | ||
| 14 | Thomas Macdonald |  | 20 March 1961 | 31 March 1968 | ||
| - | Hunter Wade (acting) | | 31 March 1968 | 11 May 1968 | ||
| 15 | Denis Blundell |  | 11 May 1968 | 22 August 1972 | ||
| - | Merv Norrish (acting) |  | 22 August 1972 | 15 March 1973 | ||
| 16 | Terry McCombs |  | 15 March 1973 | 22 March 1975 | ||
| 17 | Hugh Watt |  | 22 March 1975 | 21 June 1976 | ||
| 18 | Douglas Carter |  | 21 June 1976 | 16 July 1979 | ||
| 19 | Les Gandar |  | 16 July 1979 | 27 September 1982 | ||
| 20 | Bill Young |  | 27 September 1982 | 21 February 1985 | ||
| 21 | Joe Walding |  | 21 February 1985 | 5 June 1985† | ||
| 22 | Bryce Harland | | 15 October 1985 | 3 June 1991 | ||
| 23 | George Gair |  | 3 June 1991 | April 1994 | ||
| 24 | John Collinge | | April 1994 | 1 May 1997 | ||
| 25 | Richard Grant | | 1 May 1997 | 4 January 1999 | ||
| 26 | Paul East |  | 4 January 1999 | 4 January 2002 | ||
| 27 | Russell Marshall |  | 4 January 2002 | 4 January 2005 | ||
| 28 | Jonathan Hunt |  | April 2005 | March 2008 | ||
| 29 | Derek Leask |  | March 2008 | February 2013 | ||
| 30 | Lockwood Smith |  | 25 March 2013 | 24 March 2017 | ||
| 31 | Jerry Mateparae |  | 24 March 2017 | April 2020 | ||
| 32 | Bede Corry |  | April 2020 | 8 September 2022 | ||
| - | Shannon Austin (acting) |  | 8 September 2022 | January 2023 | ||
| Charles III | ||||||
| 33 | Phil Goff [2] |  | January 2023 | Present | ||
Table footnotes:
The Heads of British diplomatic missions are persons appointed as senior diplomats to individual nations, or international organisations. They are usually appointed as ambassadors, except in member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations where a high commissioner is appointed. The head of mission to an international organisation is usually a permanent representative. For some nations a consul or consul-general is appointed.
A chargé d'affaires, plural chargés d'affaires, often shortened to chargé (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to charge-D, is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is French for "charged with business", meaning they are responsible for the duties of an ambassador. Chargé is masculine in gender; the feminine form is chargée d'affaires.
The diplomatic corps is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body.
Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings at state dinners, the person to whom diplomatic credentials should be presented, and the title by which the diplomat should be addressed.
The High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom is the diplomatic mission of Canada to the United Kingdom. It is housed at Canada House on Trafalgar Square in central London.
In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat, generally ranking as an ambassador, in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. Instead of an embassy, the diplomatic mission is generally called a high commission.