HE Rosemary Banks

Ambassador Rosemary Banks
New Zealand Ambassador to the United States

Rosemary Banks has had a forty year career in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including six overseas assignments. She was Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York and Ambassador to France and Portugal and New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the OECD. Rosemary also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Honiara and Canberra.

As Deputy Secretary in New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Rosemary was responsible for multilateral, legal and consular affairs. She coordinated the emergency responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Bali bombings and the Asian tsunami. Drawing on these experiences, she led the development of a new emergency response system and guidance manual.

Earlier Wellington based positions included Director of Development Assistance, Director of North Asia Division, Director of Public Affairs and foreign policy adviser to the Minister.

Rosemary has a Master of Arts degree in Russian with First Class Honours from Canterbury University and a Master or Science from London School of Economics. She has recently served as a Crown negotiator for the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process; as a member of the Council of the University of Canterbury, and a Senior Adjunct Fellow in the Department of Political Science.