Deborah Geels is a diplomat from New Zealand. In 2024 she was appointed

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Natio ...

in Geneva.

Early life and education

Geels was born in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

and attended Sacred Heart Primary School and Mercy College. She then moved to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

to study international politics and economics at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

Career

In 1986 Geels joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to work on New Zealand's aid programme, and later moved into diplomatic roles. From 1993 to 1995 she was posted to

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

, and from 1997 to 2002 she served as the New Zealand Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. From 2006 to 2008 Geels was Deputy Head of Mission to Beijing, China. From 2009 to 2012, Geels directed the Ministry's consular division. In 2013 she was appointed Ambassador to Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Vienna. Returning to Wellington at the end of her term in 2017, Geels held deputy secretary roles at the Ministry. In 2024 she was appointed New Zealand Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geels, Deborah Living people People from Timaru University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand women ambassadors Permanent representatives of New Zealand to the United Nations Office in Vienna Permanent representatives of New Zealand to the United Nations in Geneva Ambassadors of New Zealand to Austria Ambassadors of New Zealand to Hungary Ambassadors of New Zealand to Slovakia Ambassadors of New Zealand to Slovenia Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Roncalli College 21st-century New Zealand diplomats 21st-century New Zealand women public servants