John Walter McKinnon (born 1950) is a

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 ...

diplomat and public servant.

Biography

McKinnon was educated at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 1963 to 1967,''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition

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 ...

, and the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. He is the younger brother of former New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and, former

Commonwealth Secretary-General The Commonwealth secretary-general is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commo ...

Don McKinnon Sir Donald Charles McKinnon (born 27 February 1939) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 12th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and the minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. He was the secretary-general of the Commonwealth of ...

; and of

Ian McKinnon Ian Duncan McKinnon (born 21 April 1943) is a New Zealand educator and local politician, and is a former deputy mayor of Wellington. Education McKinnon was educated at Nelson College from 1957 to 1961. He went on to Victoria University of Wel ...

, Chancellor of

and a former Deputy Mayor of Wellington City; twin brother of historian and New Zealand international relations expert Malcolm McKinnon; and the son of Major-General

Walter McKinnon Major General Walter Sneddon McKinnon, (8 July 1910 – 20 May 1998) was an officer in the New Zealand Army. He joined the military in 1935 and served in the Second World War with various artillery units of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary F ...

, former Chief of General Staff and Chairman of New Zealand Broadcasting. McKinnon joined the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1974, and was posted to Beijing as second secretary in 1978. In 1985, he was posted to Washington as First Secretary, then to Canberra as Counsellor in 1986. In 1992, McKinnon became New Zealand’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in New York and was the only senior New Zealand diplomat to preside over the entirety of New Zealand's third tenure on the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

(1993–1994). On returning to Wellington in 1995 he became Director of the External Assessments Bureau. In 2001, McKinnon became New Zealand’s Ambassador to Beijing. NZ defence chiefs Belgium 2012 Flickr 6819470507

NZ defence chiefs Belgium 2012 Flickr 6819470507

McKinnon was Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2004, responsible for international politics and security (Programme One). Coupled with his previous role running one of New Zealand's intelligence agencies, he is considered an expert in international security. In October 2006, the Government announced that he would succeed Graham Fortune as the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Defence, a position he held from the end of 2006 to November 2012. In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours, McKinnon was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for services to the State. From December 2012 to October 2014 McKinnon served as the Executive Director of the Asia New Zealand Foundation. In January 2015 McKinnon returned to Beijing for a second posting as Ambassador where he is served until 2017 at which point in time he retired In the 2020 New Year Honours, he was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to New Zealand–China relations.

Personal life

McKinnon is married to art historian and writer Avenal McKinnon.

References

External links

Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, John 1950 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics New Zealand public servants Ambassadors of New Zealand to China People educated at Nelson College Companions of the Queen's Service Order Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit