Michael Potts is a retired Australian diplomat and a former Australian High Commissioner to

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 ...

Early life and education

Potts earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1972.

Career

Potts began his diplomatic career in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain, as Third and Second Secretary from 1973 to 1975. At his next posting in

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

, Laos, he served as Second and First Secretary from 1977 to 1979. Following his posting as First Secretary in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

, Tanzania, in 1980, he served as Acting High Commissioner in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

, Zambia, from 1980 to 1983. Potts returned to the Australian

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...

in Canberra in 1984. He held several positions through 2002. He was also an Australian Ambassador to

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

, Vietnam, from 1991 to 1994. Described by ''The Australian'' journalist Paul Cleary as a "veteran diplomat" with the characteristics of a "colonial official from a bygone era", Potts is credited with leading efforts to negotiate the

Timor Sea Treaty Formally known as the Timor Sea Treaty between the Government of East Timor and the Government of Australia was signed between Australia and East Timor in Dili, East Timor on 20 May 2002, the day East Timor attained its independence from United ...

, initially proposing a direct replacement for the

Timor Gap Treaty The Timor Gap Treaty was formally known as the ''Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the zone of cooperation in an area between the Indonesian province of East Timor and Northern Australia''. It was a bilateral treaty betwee ...

and later provisions of the new treaty when the initial proposal was rejected by the new East Timorese Government. Potts was appointed Australian High Commissioner to

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

in 2003. Potts was High Commissioner in 2005 during the " shoe episode" when hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the High Commission in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

, with Potts and his staff inside. The protesters passed a petition to Potts through the gates of the High Commission demanding an apology from the Australian Government. In 2006, Potts was replaced by

Chris Moraitis Christos "Chris" Moraitis, (born 1962) is a senior Australian public servant, serving as Director-General of the Office of the Special Investigator. Life and career Moraitis was born in Melbourne in 1962. He joined the Australian Public Servic ...

and was appointed First Assistant Secretary in the International Organisations and Legal Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a position he held until 2009. In 2009, Potts was appointed as Australian Ambassador to Austria and as Permanent Representative, Australian Permanent Mission 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 ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Shortly after his appointment, Potts was given responsibility for taking delivery of 1,200 Austrian-made

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...

s for the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

, part of a $7.5 billion ''Project Overlander'' program to purchase 7,500 new vehicles for the Army. Potts was also responsible for Australia's relationships with a range of Eastern European countries including the Ukraine. In 2012, then-Foreign Minister of Australia

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...

, announced that Potts had been appointed as Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand, replacing Paul O'Sullivan (Sullivan was later appointed Chief of Staff to Australia's Attorney General). Potts was charged with managing the relationship with one of Australia's closest neighbours, and was also posted to the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. Potts represented Australia at official functions, including the annual

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

''Koroneihana'' at

Tūrangawaewae Tūrangawaewae Marae is located in the town of Ngāruawāhia in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. A very significant marae, it is the headquarters for the Māori King Movement (''Te Kīngitanga'') and the official residence ...

, at the invitation of

King Tuheitia King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

. When he retired in 2016, Potts chose to remain in New Zealand.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Michael High Commissioners of Australia to Zambia High Commissioners of Australia to New Zealand High Commissioners of Australia to Papua New Guinea Ambassadors of Australia to Austria Ambassadors of Australia to Vietnam Ambassadors of Australia to Ukraine Permanent Representatives of Australia to the United Nations Office in Vienna Living people 1949 births High Commissioners of Australia to the Cook Islands High Commissioners of Australia to Niue