Sir Donald Charles McKinnon (born 27 February 1939) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 12th
deputy prime minister of New Zealand
The deputy prime minister of New Zealand () is the second-most senior member of the Cabinet of New Zealand. The officeholder usually deputises for the prime minister at official functions. Since 31 May 2025, the current deputy prime minister ...
and the
minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
of New Zealand. He was the fourth
secretary-general
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
of the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
from 2000 until 2008.
Early life
McKinnon was born in
Blackheath, London
Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. Historically within the county of Kent, it is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich, London, G ...
. His father was Major-General
Walter McKinnon
Major General Walter Sneddon McKinnon, (8 July 1910 – 20 May 1998) was an officer in the New Zealand Army. He joined the military in 1935 and served in the Second World War with various artillery units of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary ...
, CB CBE, a New Zealand Chief of the General Staff, and once Chairman of
New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation
The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...
. McKinnon's brothers include the twins
John McKinnon, the former New Zealand Secretary of Defence and a former Ambassador to China, and
Malcolm McKinnon
Malcolm Arthur McKinnon (born 1950) is a New Zealand historian and political historian. McKinnon's work largely focuses on the history of New Zealand and New Zealand's international relations. McKinnon has held a number of editorial roles, includ ...
, an editor and academic, and
Ian McKinnon
Ian Duncan McKinnon (born 21 April 1943) is a New Zealand educator and local politician, and is a former deputy mayor of Wellington.
Education
McKinnon was educated at Nelson College from 1957 to 1961. He went on to Victoria University of Wel ...
, Pro-Chancellor of
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...
, School Headmaster of
Scots College and former Deputy
Mayor of Wellington
The mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, the city of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional ...
. The McKinnon brothers are great-great-grandsons of
John Plimmer
John Plimmer (28 June 1812 – 5 January 1905) was an English settler and entrepreneur in New Zealand who was the self-styled "Father of Wellington".
Early life in England
Plimmer was born at a village called in contemporary accounts "Upton-unde ...
, known as the "father of Wellington".
McKinnon was educated at Khandallah School and then
Nelson College
Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...
from 1952 to 1953.
[''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition] In 1956, he graduated from
Woodrow Wilson High School, in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
McKinnon later spent a "lengthy period" in the
Bighorn Mountains
The Bighorn Mountains ( or ) are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a northwest-trending spur from the Rocky Mountains extending approximately northward on the Great Plains. They are separa ...
in
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
.
He undertook study at
Lincoln Agricultural College
Lincoln University (Māori: ''Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki'') is a public university in New Zealand that was formed in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury was made independent of the University of Canterbury. Founded in 1878, it is the oldest ag ...
, New Zealand. After leaving university, he became a farm manager, and later a farm management consultant. In 1974, he became a real estate agent. In his spare time, he also worked as a rehabilitation tutor in prisons.
Member of Parliament
In the elections of
1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
and
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
, McKinnon stood unsuccessfully as the
National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to:
Active parties
* National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals''
* Bangladesh:
** Bangladesh Nationalist Party
** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)''
* Californ ...
's candidate in the
Birkenhead
Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...
electorate, having previously served on two of the party's electorate committees. In the
election of 1978, McKinnon won the newly established seat of
Albany, which covered much of the same area.
In 1980, McKinnon was made the government's junior
Whip
A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
. Two years later, he was made senior Whip. When Prime Minister
Robert Muldoon
Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st prime minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Departing from National Party convention, Mu ...
called the
snap election
A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...
of
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, and was defeated by
David Lange
David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. A member of the New Zealand Labour Party, Lange was also the Minister of Education ...
's
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour (), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descri ...
, McKinnon remained senior Whip for his party in
Opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...
. In September 1987, following National's defeat at the August election, he became deputy leader of the National Party after defeating
Ruth Richardson
Ruth Margaret Richardson (born 13 December 1950) is a retired New Zealand politician of the National Party who served as Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1993. Her 1991 budget, which she dubbed the "Mother of all Budgets", formed the catalyst ...
for the position by just one vote. He was also appointed Shadow Minister of Defence and Shadow Minister of Health by leader
Jim Bolger
James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997.
Bolger was born in Ōpunake, Taranaki, to Irish immigrants. Bef ...
.
Cabinet minister
When National, then led by
Jim Bolger
James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997.
Bolger was born in Ōpunake, Taranaki, to Irish immigrants. Bef ...
, won the
1990 election, McKinnon became Deputy Prime Minister. He also became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister of Pacific Island Affairs. During his tenure in the former role, he oversaw New Zealand's election to the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, increased activity in the Commonwealth of Nations, and attempts to broker a truce on the island of
Bougainville. He received recognition as a result of the Bougainville negotiations.
In 1996, the National Party required the support of the
New Zealand First
New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...
party to form a government, and part of the coalition agreement gave the office of Deputy Prime Minister to New Zealand First leader
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
. McKinnon kept his role as Minister of Foreign Affairs, however, and also became
Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control. When the coalition with New Zealand First collapsed, McKinnon did not resume the Deputy Prime Minister's role as he had been replaced beforehand as Deputy National Party leader by
Wyatt Creech
Wyatt Beetham Creech (born 13 October 1946) is a retired New Zealand politician. He served as the 14th deputy prime minister of New Zealand in Jenny Shipley's National Party government from August 1998 to December 1999.
Early life
Creech was ...
and therefore Creech became Deputy Prime Minister instead, although he did gain the minor responsibility of Minister in Charge of War Pensions. McKinnon retired from parliament shortly after the
1999 election, being replaced by
Arthur Anae
Anae Lupematasila Lima Arthur John Anae (born 1945) is a New Zealand politician who served on the Auckland Council. He was an MP from 1996 to 1999, and again from 2000 to 2002. He was part of the National Party, being its first Pasifika MP.
Ea ...
.
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
During his time as New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs, McKinnon had been highly involved with the Commonwealth. At the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1999
The 1999 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 16th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Durban, South Africa, between 12 November and 14 November 1999, and hosted by President Thabo Mbeki.
...
(CHOGM), in
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
, he was elected to the office of Secretary General. Since that time, he has had to deal with issues such as
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
's
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...
and
George Speight
George Speight (; born 1957), also known by his pseudonym Ilikimi Naitini, is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit sei ...
's attempted nationalist coup in
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
. McKinnon has also placed an emphasis on supporting "good governance".
In late 2003, New Zealand media reported that Zimbabwe was attempting to gather support from other Commonwealth members to remove McKinnon from the office of Secretary-General, presumably in retaliation for McKinnon's views about the issue of Zimbabwean democracy. The government of Zimbabwe denied that it was making any such efforts.
At the opening of the
2003 CHOGM, in
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
on 5 December, McKinnon was challenged for the position of Secretary-General by
Lakshman Kadirgamar
Sri Lankabhimanya Lakshman Kadirgamar, President's Counsel, PC (; , 12 April 1932 – 12 August 2005) was a Sri Lankan lawyer. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2001 and again from April 2004 until his assassina ...
, a former Foreign Minister of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. However, McKinnon defeated Kadirgamar in a vote reported to be 40–11 in McKinnon's favour.
McKinnon received an Honorary Doctorate from
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...
in 2005
In 2007 McKinnon attempted to mediate between Fiji and the Australian and New Zealand governments in their continuing dispute over the appropriate timetable and rules for the holding of Fijian election in 2008.
In a 2007 interview McKinnon criticised British public support for evicted
white farmers in Zimbabwe as being "a bit of a guilt thing" and argued that the evictions were justified as there was "no way you can justify a society where 15,000 white farmers control 80 per cent of the most fertile land".
In the
2008 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008.
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...
, McKinnon was appointed as a
Member of the Order of New Zealand
The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by Royal warrant (documen ...
, New Zealand's highest civilian honour.
In 2009, McKinnon was appointed a
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...
for services to the Commonwealth. He is a vice-president of the
Royal Commonwealth Society
The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is a non-governmental organisation with a mission to promote the value of the Commonwealth and the values upon which it is based. The Society upholds the values of the Commonwealth Charter, promoting co ...
.
Legacy
Don McKinnon Drive is named after McKinnon, in his former electorate of Albany.
In April 2013, McKinnon released his memoirs of his time as Secretary General of the Commonwealth, entitled ''In The Ring''.
McKinnon is chairman of th
Global Panel Foundation Australasia a non-governmental organisation that works in crisis areas around the world.
Personal life
McKinnon is married to his second wife, former journalist
Clare de Lore, and together they have a son. McKinnon also has four other children from a previous marriage.
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Profile: Don McKinnon - BBC newsThe Global Panel Foundation
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Don
1939 births
Commonwealth secretaries-general
Deputy prime ministers of New Zealand
New Zealand Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni
Living people
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Members of the Order of New Zealand
New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
New Zealand National Party MPs
Ministers of foreign affairs of New Zealand
New Zealand list MPs
New Zealand real estate agents
Ministers of trade of New Zealand
People educated at Nelson College
People from Nelson, New Zealand
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1969 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1972 New Zealand general election
21st-century New Zealand politicians