Rosemary Banks (born 1951) is a New Zealand diplomat who served as the Ambassador of New Zealand to the United States between 2018 and 2022. She is the first woman to hold the position.

Education

Banks graduated with an MA in Russian from the University of Canterbury, and received an MSc from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. She was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of literature by the University of Canterbury in April 2015.

Career

Banks served as New Zealand deputy high commissioner to the Solomon Islands between 1985 and 1987, and to Australia from 1992 until 1995. As Deputy Secretary in New Zealand's

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 ...

, Banks spearheaded the development of a new emergency response system, following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

in 2001, the

2002 Bali bombings The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other national ...

, and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. She was New Zealand's

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the United Nations in New York from June 2005 to June 2009, and Ambassador to France and Permanent Representative to the OECD from 2010 to 2014. In 2018, Banks succeeded

Tim Groser Timothy John Groser (born 6 March 1950) is a New Zealand politician and diplomat. A member of the New Zealand National Party, Groser was a Member of Parliament between 2005 and 2015, and a cabinet minister between 2008 and 2015. He resigned fro ...

as New Zealand ambassador to the United States. Banks has also served as a Crown negotiator for the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process.

References

External links

New Zealand Mission to the United Nations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Rosemary 1951 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Ambassadors of New Zealand to France Ambassadors of New Zealand to the United States New Zealand women ambassadors Permanent Representatives of New Zealand to the United Nations University of Canterbury alumni