Owston Paul Gabites (5 December 1913 – 15 July 1993) 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 served as the 8th

Administrator of Tokelau The administrator of Tokelau is an official of the New Zealand Government, responsible for supervising the government of the dependent territory of Tokelau. Powers and functions Certain powers and functions of the administrator are set forth i ...

from June 1965 to 1968, and ambassador of New Zealand to France between 1969 and 1975.

Biography

Paul Gabites was born 5 December 1913 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 ...

, New Zealand. After completing his education 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 ...

, Gabites served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1941 to 1945. He remained in Europe until 1946, during which time he met and married Italian Anna Dora Lunghetti. They had 3 children. He passed away on 15 July 1993 in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, United Kingdom.

Career

Paul Gabites was a teacher at St Peter's Cambridge from 1937 to 1941. As a politician, after serving in the Second World War, Gabites served in the Internal Affairs Department (1946–47), the Department of External Affairs (1947), as Head of Information Division in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

(1951–53), as Official Secretary in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

(1953–56), as Councillor in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(195659), as

Charge d'Affaires Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aq ...

in Paris (1959–60), as

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

(1960–65), as member of New Zealand United Nations' Delegates (1960-64), as High Commissioner of Western Samoa (1965-68), as Administrator of the Tokelau Islands (1965–68), as Assistant Secretary in Wellington (1968–69), as Senior Commissioner of the

South Pacific Commission The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories around the Pacific Ocean. The organisation's hea ...

(1968–69), as New Zealand's ambassador to France (1969–75), as a Permanent Representative to the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(1970–75) and as New Zealand's ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

from 1973 until 1975, when he retired.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabites, Owston Paul 1913 births 1993 deaths High commissioners of New Zealand to Samoa Ambassadors of New Zealand to France People from Timaru 20th-century New Zealand diplomats