McCully names new Ambassador to UN in Gevena

Career diplomat Dell Higgie will be New Zealand's next Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and Ambassador for Disarmament, Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced today.

"The UN's operations in Geneva cover a wide range of issues, including disarmament, environment, humanitarian affairs, and human rights, and our Permanent Representative plays an important role in ensuring that New Zealand's viewpoint is understood and taken into account," Mr McCully said.

"The UN's management of global responses to natural disasters is handled in Geneva, and a number of UN agencies and programmes base their headquarters there, including the World Health Organisation, UNAIDS, and the International Labour Organisation."

Ms Higgie is currently Ambassador for Counter-terrorism and Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's International Security and Disarmament Division. She has previously served as Ambassador in Brussels, and has been posted to Washington and Ottawa.

Ms Higgie takes up her post in July, replacing Don Mackay, who is returning to Wellington.