Martin Harvey – An enjoyable Foreign Affair. Martin Harvey retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT) after 40 years as a public servant. Most would refer to him as a diplomat, but Martin says that he was first and foremost a public servant.
His responsibilities were to the Government of the day and the people of New Zealand to achieve the best outcomes for both from the countries with whom he was negotiating trade agreements. Loyalty and integrity were high on the list of values driving his work.
Born in Greytown, Martin’s family moved to Waverley where he received all his schooling. The headmaster of Waverley District High School identified him as a suitable applicant for a scholarship for a United World College. Martin attended Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in British Columbia, Canada from 1976 to 1978.
An aim of the College was to create an understanding of different cultures through education. Martin’s fellow students were from over 50 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australia. This was an excellent grounding for a future career in MFAT. He had studied French by correspondence at high school and continued this study in Canada as part of the International Baccalaureate diploma. Subsequently he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Studies, Massey, and a Master of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Auckland. In 1984, MFAT was looking for economics graduates; so, began his long career with foreign affairs.
Martin served in a variety of posts, including Canberra and Geneva. He was High Commissioner to Singapore and Canada, the latter his last role. He was the lead negotiator for free trade agreements with ASEAN, Malaysia, Korea and the European Union.
When Martin worked as a NZ representative to the World Trade Organisation in Geneva, he saw his role as helping to build a rules-based system of trade negotiation which would benefit all countries involved. This rules-based system has been sorely tested in recent times.
Other assignments included secondments, including to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra and the Institute of Policy Studies at Victoria University. In the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, he worked on climate change including New Zealand’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
Martin and his wife, Sarah, have three adult children. Their children were fortunate to accompany their parents whenever Martin was posted overseas. They loved holidays in Martinborough with Sarah’s family who live here. With this strong connection to Martinborough, retiring here seemed the natural thing to do.
Martin has involved himself in community activities; he volunteers at The Social Crust. As Guide Dog Trainers, he and Sarah are preparing a handsome labrador, Brian, for advanced training. You may meet Martin doing street training with Brian. A keen cyclist, he joins a group weekly for a 50k ride. Martin continues his interest in foreign affairs as a committee member of the NZ Institute of International Affairs branch based in Masterton.
