20 December 2006
New MFAT Deputy Secretary appointed
Career diplomat John McArthur has been appointed Deputy Secretary responsible for New Zealand’s bilateral relations with
Asia and the Americas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, chief executive Simon Murdoch said today.
He will replace John McKinnon, who has been appointed Secretary of Defence.
Dr McArthur, who takes up his new position in early 2007, is currently New Zealand Ambassador to Japan, based in Tokyo.
He has previously served as Consul-General in Shanghai, Director of MFAT’s Security Policy Division, and Special
Representative to the ASEAN Regional Forum. He has also been posted to New Zealand’s embassy in Beijing, China, and
worked at the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei. Dr McArthur is fluent in Chinese, Japanese and French.
Dr McArthur joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983. He has a BA (Hons) degree from Victoria University of
Wellington and a PhD from the University of Toulouse Le Mirail, France.
ENDS