The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a major portfolio in the Cabinet of New Zealand.
The present Minister is Phil Goff, who also serves as Minister of Justice. Pete Hodgson and Marian Hobbs serve as Associate Ministers, with Hobbs having special responsibility for foreign aid. Also linked to the portfolio are the separate roles of Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control (held by Hobbs) and Minister for Trade Negotiations (held by Jim Sutton).
Responsibilities and powers
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade is responsible for overseeing New Zealand's relations with foreign countries. The Minister is in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including New Zealand's diplomatic staff. The office is often considered to be one of the more distinguished ministerial posts, and has at times been counted as the most senior role below that of the Prime Minister. In terms of actual political power, however, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is not prominent, with the Minister of Finance being considerably more influential.
History
The first New Zealand foreign minister was James Allen, appointed to the post of "Minister of External Affairs" by William Massey in 1919. Before this time, there was no dedicated ministerial portfolio for foreign relations. At a later date, the title was changed to "Minister of Foreign Affairs". When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs absorbed responsibility for trade negotiations, the title formally became "Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade", although the latter part of this term is frequently omitted in practice.
Historically, it has been common for Prime Ministers to take on the role of Foreign Minister themselves, particularly if they have an interest in the field. The most recent Prime Minister to do this was Mike Moore, in 1990. In total, thirteen Prime Ministers have served as Foreign Minister for all or part of their terms.
New Zealand has had twenty-five foreign ministers (regardless of exact title) since the post was first created. The longest-serving foreign minister was Keith Holyoake, who held the post for the duration of his eleven-year premiership. The second longest-serving foreign minister, and the longest-serving foreign minister who was not also Prime Minister, was Don McKinnon, who later became Commonwealth Secretary-General.
List of Foreign Ministers
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