Te Rongotoa "Tia" Barrett previously known as John Richard Te Rongotoa Barrett (24 July 1947 – 15 November 2009) was a New Zealand diplomat of indigenous

Ngati Maniapoto ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...

and Waikato extraction from the Tainui iwi. He was director of the Māori Policy Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).

Career background

Mr Barrett joined the Foreign Ministry in 1973. He was High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands and

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, and had been posted to

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, France and Tonga. He spoke French fluently. He was New Zealand's first Māori High Commissioner to

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

. He was High Commissioner to the Cook Islands at the time of his sudden death in Middlemore Hospital in Auckland on 15 November 2009 following a short illness.

Family

Tia Barrett grew up in Aria, Waikato. He is survived by his second wife, Theresa, and his two children, Caroline and Nicholas.

List of honours

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (France) – 2011.

References

External links

"Labour pays its respects to Tia Barrett"

Report of Barrett's death

Ngāti Maniapoto member

Memorial notice
1947 births 2009 deaths High Commissioners of New Zealand to the Cook Islands Ngāti Maniapoto people People from Waikato High Commissioners of New Zealand to the Solomon Islands High Commissioners of New Zealand to Fiji New Zealand recipients of the Legion of Honour 20th-century New Zealand politicians {{NewZealand-diplomat-stub