Chris Elder is a retired diplomat of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. *Until 1973 Chris Elder was trained as a Chinese linguist. *From 1973 to 1975 he was employed in the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing when it was opened. *From 1993 to 1997 he was

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. *From 2001 to 2006 he was New Zealand's longest-serving

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

. *From 2006 to he was

in the Embassy of New Zealand in Moscow (

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

). *In Wellington, Chris has served as the Deputy Secretary with responsibility for Asian affairs and security policy in the Asia-Pacific region. *From to 2012 he was

Chargé d'affaires 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 ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. *Despite his expertise in China/New Zealand relations, Chris did not serve again in Beijing. *In 2012 he retired from the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) (Māori: ''Manatū Aorere'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on foreign and trade policy, and promoting New Zealand's interests in trade and in ...

. *He has published a range of papers and articles relating to New Zealand's interaction with China and with Asia. *With Michael Green, he co-authored a historical survey of New Zealand-China relations (New Zealand and China 1792-1972) and with Robert Ayson a Centre for Strategic Studies Discussion Paper, China's Rise and New Zealand's Interests: A Policy Primer for 2030.

Publications

*Old Peking: City of the Ruler of the World, Oxford University Press, 1997 *China's Treaty Ports: Half Love and Half Hate, Oxford University Press, 1999 *New Zealand's China Experience: Its Genesis, Triumphs, and Occasional Moments of less than Complete Success, Victoria University Press, 2012 *Forty Years On: New Zealand-China Relations then, now and in the Years to Come, Victoria University Press, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder, Christopher 1947 births Living people Ambassadors of New Zealand to China Ambassadors of New Zealand to Indonesia Ambassadors of New Zealand to Russia Ambassadors of New Zealand to Ukraine