Doug Zohrab
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Balfour Douglas Zohrab (14 July 1917 – 1 June 2008) was a New Zealand diplomat and public servant.


Life

Zohrab was born in
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
of a part-
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
family whose paternal ancestor was moved from Armenia to
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
by the
Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
in around 1600 AD. Members of the family became influential in Persia and were forced to escape political assassination at the end of the 18th century by fleeing to Turkey. In due course, some family members moved, in turn, to Malta, England, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. He was an amateur pianist who reportedly played on
Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...
in his youth, and he was interested in the arts generally. His other hobbies were reading, contract bridge and gardening. He married Rosemary Alice Miller in 1947; Zohrab was educated at Nelson College from 1930 to 1933. In 1934 he became a newspaper copyholder and junior reporter on Wellington's ''
Evening Post ''Evening Post'' or ''The Evening Post'' may refer to the following newspapers: United Kingdom * ''Evening Post'' (London) (1710–1732), then ''Berington's Evening Post'' (1732–1740) * ''London Evening Post'' (1727–1797) * ''W ...
'' newspaper. He graduated from
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...
with a master's degree in History in 1937 and became an assistant librarian at Parliament's General Assembly Library. Apart from his native English, he knew French, Italian, German, some Japanese, some Malay, and taught himself Russian.


Career

In
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Zohrab was a cipher clerk on General Freyberg's staff, where his duties included interviewing Italian prisoners of war. He spent time recuperating from illness in Lebanon, then was invalided home from the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. In 1944, he was appointed to the Ministry of Rehabilitation, then to the Prime Minister's Department, in the section that became what is now known as the
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade 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 served in London, Moscow, Paris, then in Wellington and, overseas again, in Tokyo. He was the first Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva 1961–64, worked at Wellington headquarters, then was made High Commissioner to Malaysia 1967–69, then Ambassador to Germany 1969–74 accredited also to Austria, Switzerland and Poland. He retired in 1974, after 26 years of service overseas. Zohrab died in
Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kapiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the grey mullet". The town lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Ōtak ...
, leaving two sons.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zohrab, Doug 1917 births 2008 deaths New Zealand people of Armenian descent New Zealand public servants Permanent Representatives of New Zealand to the United Nations Ambassadors of New Zealand to Poland Ambassadors of New Zealand to Germany Ambassadors of New Zealand to Austria Ambassadors of New Zealand to Switzerland High commissioners of New Zealand to Malaysia People educated at Nelson College Victoria University of Wellington alumni