Paul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell (born March 1977) is a former New Zealand diplomat, a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and was a list member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

between May 2013 and 2017. He is a member of the National Party and a monarchist. He failed to win the party's nomination for the electorate in March 2014, but remained in Parliament as a list MP for the following term.

Early life

Foster-Bell was born in Whangarei in 1977 and grew up on a beef farm in the

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

area. His parents are Bob and Alyse Foster-Bell. He attended

Otaika Otaika ( mi, Ōtaika) is a suburb of Whangārei 7 km south of the city in Northland, New Zealand. The Otaika Stream runs from the north west, through the area, and into the Whangārei Harbour. State Highway 1 runs through the locality. ...

Primary School, Raumanga Intermediate and Whangarei Boys' High School. He studied in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, gaining a degree in archaeology (2003) and a diploma in business (2008) from

Otago University , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. He is of English, Scots, Irish, Portuguese and Māori descent.

Career

Foster-Bell was a diplomat and his last assignment was as Deputy Head of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

, Saudi Arabia, having previously served as First Secretary & Consul in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

in Iran, and Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan. 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 metr ...

he worked in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade may refer to: * Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (Jamaica) * Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand) * Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea) South Korea's Ministry of ...

's (MFAT) Middle East and Africa division, as Deputy Chief of Protocol, and as a Regional Manager in the Ministry's Security Directorate. He took leave from MFAT from June to November 2011 to contest a parliamentary election. Foster-Bell was vice-chair of

Monarchy New Zealand Monarchy New Zealand is a national, non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to promote, support and defend the constitutional monarchy of New Zealand. In addition to the general public, the organisation's membership includes ...

in 2012–13.

Member of Parliament

Foster-Bell contested at the 2002 general election, losing to incumbent

David Benson-Pope David Henry Benson-Pope (born 1950) is a New Zealand politician. He is a former Member of Parliament for Dunedin South and has been a member of the Dunedin City Council since 2013. Benson-Pope previously served as a Dunedin city councillor from ...

. Foster-Bell stood in the electorate during the 2011 general election. Foster-Bell was called to Parliament in May 2013 as a

list MP A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than from by a geographical constituency. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes that the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs ...

, replacing

Jackie Blue Jacqueline Diane Miller (née Blue, born 2 June 1956), commonly known as Jackie Blue, is a New Zealand politician and former member of Parliament for the National Party. Personal life Blue was born in 1956. She attended Selwyn College in Au ...

. He was sworn in on 28 May 2013. He was a member of the Health Committee and of the Justice and Electoral Committee. Aro Valley candidates meeting (15174105711)

Aro Valley candidates meeting (15174105711)

In March 2014, Foster-Bell sought the National Party nomination in the electorate, but was beaten by

Shane Reti Shane Raymond Reti (born 5 June 1963) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, first elected at the 2014 general election. He is a member of the New Zealand National Party and served as its deputy ...

. Foster-Bell stood in Wellington Central once more, and was beaten by Labour's

Grant Robertson Grant Murray Robertson (born 30 October 1971) is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party who has served as the 19th deputy prime minister of New Zealand since 2020 and the minister of Finance since 2017. He has served as Member ...

. With a higher list placing of 46, and was returned as a member of parliament. Foster-Bell was part of a cross-party group initiated by

Jan Logie Heather Janet Logie (born 26 October 1969) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. She is a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Early life and career Logie was born in Invercargill i ...

to look at and advocate for LGBTI rights. The group consisted of Catherine Delahunty (Green), Chris Bishop (National), David Seymour (Act), Denis O'Rouke (NZ First), Denise Roche (Green), James Shaw (Green), Jan Logie (Green), Kevin Hague (Green), Louisa Wall (Labour), Nanaia Mahuta (Labour), Paul Foster-Bell (National), and Trevor Mallard (Labour). Foster-Bell courted controversy in 2016 when news broke that he had 12 staff leave his office in the 2013–2016 period, amidst claims by former staffers that he had bullied them. Foster-Bell strongly denied these allegations, saying that he was not a bully. In 2016 Foster-Bell also received criticism for his travel expenses, which totaled more than $61,000 for a one-year period. Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...

defended Foster-Bell's expenses, saying "It's not unusual for us to use a list MP, certainly someone with skills like he has in foreign affairs, around the country. Other MPs ask him to support them in terms of talks or seminars ... or to fill in, for instance, for ministers." In February 2017, Foster-Bell announced that he had withdrawn from the National Party's candidate selections for the election and would retire from politics.

Personal life

In 2016 Foster-Bell announced that he was gay in response to remarks made by Destiny Church leader

Brian Tamaki Brian Raymond Tamaki (born 2 February 1958), is a New Zealand fundamentalist Christian religious leader and far-right political activist. A Tainui man from the Ngati Ngawaero and Ngati Maniapoto tribes, he is the leader of Destiny Church, a ...

regarding homosexuals.

Notes

References

External links

Profile
on the New Zealand National Party website.
Profile
on the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...

website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster-Bell, Paul 1977 births Living people New Zealand National Party MPs LGBT members of the Parliament of New Zealand Gay politicians LGBT conservatism Māori MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand diplomats New Zealand list MPs New Zealand monarchists New Zealand expatriates in Pakistan People educated at Whangarei Boys' High School University of Otago alumni Unsuccessful candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election 21st-century New Zealand politicians