Lionel John Wood (born 1944) is a former New Zealand diplomat and a former

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. He was Deputy Secretary of

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

, and served two separate terms as New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States in Washington.

Early life

Born in Kaikoura, Wood was educated at the University of Canterbury, graduating with an MA (first class honours) in 1964. He then studied at Balliol College,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, earning a

BPhil Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's d ...

Professional career

Wood joined the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1969, and served as First Secretary in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in 1974. He then worked as Prime Minister

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

’s Foreign Policy adviser, and served as deputy chief of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Bonn. Wood was Deputy Chief of Mission at New Zealand's Embassy in Washington from 1984 to 1987, and Chargé d'Affaires at the post from 1984 to 1985, at a key time in New Zealand's relationship with the United States, including New Zealand's withdrawal from the

ANZUS The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is a 1951 non-binding collective security agreement between Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States, to co-operate on military ...

treaty. Wood was New Zealand's Ambassador to Iran in 1987, and the first ambassador to Turkey in 1989. He was also high commissioner to Pakistan. In 1991 he became Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs, responsible for trade and economic policy, and one of the key officials driving New Zealand's role in

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy, economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

(APEC), and the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

(WTO). Wood headed New Zealand delegations and negotiations to the WTO Ministerial meetings in Seattle in 1999, and Doha in 2001. He was inducted into the

Consumers for World Trade Hall of Fame A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

for his services in the promotion of free trade. In 1994, Wood became New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States, in Washington. He held this post for four years, before returning to New Zealand again as Deputy Secretary for trade and economic policy. In this post, Wood was instrumental in securing Don McKinnon’s posting as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, and

Mike Moore Michael Moore is an American filmmaker and author. Michael Moore may also refer to: Academia * Michael G. Moore (fl. 1970s–2020s), professor of education * Michael S. Moore (academic) (fl. 1960s–2020s), American law professor * Michael Moore ...

’s posting as Director-General of the WTO. In 2002, Wood was again posted as New Zealand's Ambassador to Washington, replacing former Prime Minister Jim Bolger. Wood retired from the Foreign Service in 2006 to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, where he became an adjunct professor of Political Science. Wood also received an honorary doctorate from the

in 2004. In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Wood 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 public services. In 2009, Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister

Chris Finlayson Christopher Francis Finlayson (born 1956) is a New Zealand lawyer and former Member of Parliament, representing the National Party. He was elected to Parliament in 2005. In the Fifth National Government, from 2008 to 2017, he was Attorney-Ge ...

appointed him the Crown's lead negotiator in talks with Whanganui

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

. In August 2017, Wood was appointed chairman of the

Canterbury District Health Board The Canterbury District Health Board (Canterbury DHB or CDHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of New Zealand, north of the Rangitata River. It was responsible fo ...

by Health Minister Jonathan Coleman, replacing Murray Cleverley (resigned) and succeeding the acting chair Mark Solomon. As of 2022, Wood is a member of the Board of

Te Urewera Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park. Te Urewera is t ...

, a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the North Island."Meet the Board", ngaituhoe.iwi.nz, accessed 19 July 2022
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, John 1944 births People from Kaikōura Ambassadors of New Zealand to the United States Ambassadors of New Zealand to Iran Ambassadors of New Zealand to Turkey High Commissioners of New Zealand to Pakistan Living people New Zealand public servants University of Canterbury alumni Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Companions of the Queen's Service Order Chancellors of the University of Canterbury Canterbury District Health Board members Academic staff of the University of Canterbury