Gerald McGhie was both New Zealand’s last ambassador to the Soviet Union, as well as its first to Russia. The Dunedin-born diplomat served New Zealand’s interests overseas for 40 years, including postings to Western Samoa, New York, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, and Tonga. In 2017 he published an insightful and entertaining memoir of his career, Balancing Acts: Reflections of a New Zealand Diplomat. Born in 1939, McGhie was educated at Otago Boys’ High School and then part-time at the University of Otago, where he gained an MA (history) while working for Shell Oil. In 1965 McGhie headed to Wellington and was attached to the United Nations division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Post diplomacy McGhie was a Fellow at Victoria University, Joint Fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies and the Institute of Asian Studies, and a director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. He was awarded a QSO in 2005. Gerald McGhie died on March 27 aged 86. — Allied Media/Agencies
