16 February 2011

The French Ambassador Francis Etienne held a posthumous decoration of Tia Barrett at the French Embassy in Wellington, honoring the highly revered diplomat who served New Zealand for many years.

Barrett began his career in 1973, holding a variety of positions, including: High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and the Cook Islands; Director of the Maori Policy Unit at the Ministry of Foreign and Trade Affairs; and Chief of Protocol at The Ministry of Foreign and Trade Affairs. In addition, he was stationed in France, New Caledonia, and Tonga. During his time in France, Barrett fostered a close relationship not only with French officials, but also with the country’s culture, a bond surely strengthened by his mastery of the French language.

Thus, it was foremost as friends, and then as colleagues, that the French Embassy hosted a reception yesterday evening to remember the life of a man who made such significant diplomatic contributions to New Zealand, and especially, to his fellow Maori.

The French Ambassador to New Zealand, Francis Etienne, awarded Tia Barrett’s wife, Theresa, a medal of recognition for her husband’s important work in foreign affairs.

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