Finalists in the NZer of the Year in the UK

                                                Media release – January 21, 2009

Two university heads and a Maori leader finalists in the NZer of the Year in the UK
 
London and Oxford Universities vice-chancellors Sir Graeme Davies  and John Hood and Ngati Ranana founding member Esther Jessop have been named as the finalists for the 2009 New Zealander of the Year award.

Sir Graeme, Hood and Jessop have all been recognised for the contribution they have made to enhancing New Zealand’s profile in the UK over the past year.

The award, which was established by the New Zealand Society in 1998, will be presented to the winner at the annual New Zealand Society’s Waitangi Day Dinner  at the Millennium Hotel, Mayfair, February 6 (UK time).

Previous winners have included Ian Conrich, director of the Centre for New Zealand Studies at Birckbeck University, New Zealand memorial architect, Jon Rennie; Susan and Tom Glynn, New Zealand restaurateurs in London, golfer Michael Campbell; equestrian rider Mark Todd; secretary general of the Commonwealth Don McKinnon; and chef Peter Gordon.

Showcasing New Zealand food and wine, the dinner will include a Maori performance by Ngati Ranana, and the guest speaker will be former NZ cricket captain Jeremy Coney.

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