Mike Moore

Michael Kenneth Moore ONZ AO PC (28 January 1949 – 2 February 2020) was a New Zealand politician, union organiser, and author. In the Fourth Labour Government he served in several portfolios including Minister of Foreign Affairs, and was Prime Minister for 59 days before the 1990 general election elected a new parliament. Following Labour's defeat in that election, Moore served as Leader of the Opposition until the 1993 election, after which Helen Clark successfully challenged him for the Labour Party leadership.

Following his retirement from New Zealand politics, Moore was Director-General of the World Trade Organization from 1999 to 2002. He also held the post of New Zealand Ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015.

• Member of Parliament for Eden, 1972–75.
• Member of Parliament for Waimakariri (formerly Papanui and Christchurch North), 1978–99.
• Minister of Tourism, Sport and Recreation, 1984–87.
• Chairman of the Cabinet Economic Development and Employment Committee, 1984–90.
• Minister of External Relations and Trade, 1988–90.
• Minister for the America's Cup, 1988–90.
• Deputy Minister of Finance, 1988–90.
• Minister of Overseas Trade and Marketing, 1984–90.
• Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1990.
• Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1990–93.
• Leader of the Opposition, 1990–93.
• Opposition Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Overseas Trade, 1993–99.

World Trade Organization

Moore was Director-General of the World Trade Organization from 1999 to 2002. His term coincided with momentous changes in the global economy and multilateral trading system. He attempted to restore confidence in the system following the setback of the 1999 WTO ministerial conference held in Seattle. Ministers at the 2001 ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar, regarded him as the driving force behind the decision to launch a new round of multilateral trade negotiations—the ill-fated Doha Development Round. That 2001 meeting also saw the successful accession to the WTO of China and Chinese Taipei, which along with Estonia, Jordan, Georgia, Albania, Oman, Croatia, Lithuania and Moldova joined during Moore's term, bringing the majority of the world's population within the rules-based trading system. He gave particular attention to helping poor countries participate effectively in the multilateral trading system.

Later life and death

Moore became New Zealand Ambassador to the United States in 2010. He had a heart valve operation in 2014 and was admitted to hospital in Washington DC in April 2015 after a mild stroke. In November 2015, he announced that he would leave his post on 16 December and return to New Zealand due to his deteriorating health.

Moore was a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly.

Moore died at his home in Auckland on 2 February 2020, aged 71.

International services and appointments

• Commissioner, United Nations Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor
• Commissioner, Global Commission on International Migration
• Director General of the World Trade Organisation, 1999–2002
• Member, Global Leadership Foundation
• Senior Counsellor, Fonterra
• Member, Trilateral Commission
• Member, Economic Development Board, South Australia
• New Zealand Government Trade Envoy
• Special Advisor to the United Nations Global Compact for Business and Development
• Former Board Member to the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
• Member, Board of Governors for the Institute for International Business, Economics and Law, University of Adelaide
• Adjunct Professor, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
• Adjunct Professor, University of Adelaide, South Australia
• Chairperson, Advisory Board of Carnegie Mellon University, Adelaide
• Honorary Professor, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai
• Honorary Professor, Chinese University for Political Science and International Law, Beijing
• Honorary Professor, Shanghai Customs College
• Honorary President, Beijing Afforestation Foundation.
• Special Advisor, China Institute for Reform and Development's World Trade Organisation Reference Centre.
• CEO, The Moore Group International Ltd.