Michael Green was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

diplomat, who in 2007 was expelled as New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji by the country's interim government as part of the

2006 Fijian coup d'état The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état in Fiji carried out by Commodore (rank), Commodore Frank Bainimarama against Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and President Josefa Iloilo. It was the culminatio ...

. Green joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1970, after graduating from 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 ...

. He was first posted to Bangkok as second secretary in 1972, before returning to Wellington three years later. In 1978, Green was posted as first secretary to New Zealand's mission to the United Nations in New York. In 1980, Green was posted to New Zealand's Embassy in Beijing. In 1988, Green was appointed director of the

External Assessments Bureau The National Assessments Bureau (NAB), previously known as the External Assessments Bureau (EAB), is a New Zealand intelligence analysis agency within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC). The NAB along with the Government C ...

, a section of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he spent six years. In 1997, Green succeeded

Tim Groser Timothy John Groser (born 6 March 1950) is a New Zealand former politician and diplomat. A member of the New Zealand National Party, Groser was a Member of Parliament between 2005 and 2015. He held the offices of Minister of Trade, Minister of ...

as New Zealand's Ambassador to Indonesia. Following his return from Jakarta, Green was appointed Deputy Secretary at the

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT; ) is the executive department of the Government of New Zealand charged with conducting the nation’s external relations, trade negotiations and international development programme. From its hea ...

, responsible for New Zealand's security policy and responsibilities for the Americas, North Asia, and South and South-East Asia. Green was appointed as New Zealand's High Commissioner to

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 ...

in December 2004. In June 2007, Green was expelled from Fiji by the country's post- coup interim government, with

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (; born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his c ...

accusing him of interfering in the country's domestic affairs.Fiji expels New Zealand diplomat
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 14 June 2007. In addition, New Zealand police officers were refused Fijian visas to escort Green back to New Zealand, and a

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...

journalist, Michael Field, was detained then deported by Fijian immigration authorities when he arrived to cover the story. Green died of cancer in 2012.

References

Year of birth missing 2012 deaths University of Canterbury alumni High commissioners of New Zealand to Fiji Ambassadors of New Zealand to Indonesia Deaths from cancer {{NewZealand-gov-bio-stub