Lindsay Watt
High Commissioner of New Zealand to the Cook Islands
In office
16 February 1980 – 17 March 1982
Preceded byBrian Absolum
Succeeded byPaul Tipping
High Commissioner of New Zealand to Fiji
In office
1982–1985
Preceded byMichael Powles
Succeeded byRod Gates
Ambassador of New Zealand to China
In office
1985–1990
Preceded byTony Small
Succeeded byMichael Powles
Administrator of Tokelau
In office
1993–2003
Preceded byBrian Absolum
Succeeded byNeil Walter
Personal details
Born
Lindsay Johnstone Watt

1934 (age 89–90)
Lincoln, New Zealand
SpousePriscilla Pirie Cabot Morrison (died 1987)
Occupation
  • Public servant
  • diplomat

Lindsay Johnstone Watt (born 1934) is a retired New Zealand diplomat. His roles include being New Zealand ambassador to China from 1985 to 1990, and the administrator of Tokelau for 10 years from 1993.

Early life and family

Watt was born at Lincoln in 1934, the son of Dorothy Watt (née Laishley) and George James Watt. At the time, his father was a member of the farmer staff at Canterbury Agricultural College, and later served as the commissioner of Crown lands, Christchurch.[1][2]

From 1948 to 1951, Watt was educated St. Andrew's College, Christchurch. He went on the study at Victoria University College, graduating with a Master of Arts degree with second-class honours in 1957.[3] He married Priscilla Pirie Cabot Morrison; she died in 1987.[4][5]

Career

From 1960 to 1963, Watt was third secretary at the mission of New Zealand to the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. In 1969, he was first secretary of the new Zealand embassy in Bangkok. In 1976, he was counsellor at the High Commission of New Zealand, London.

From 16 February 1980 to 17 March 1982, Watt was the representative of New Zealand to the Cook Islands.[6] From 1982 to 1985, he was the high commissioner of New Zealand to Fiji, based in Suva. From 1985 to 1990 he was New Zealand's ambassador in Beijing. In late 1985, Watt became the first foreign ambassador to visit Guizhou province in southwest China, and met Hu Jintao, at that time the provincial governor, who would later serve as the president of China from 2003 to 2013. Watt observed that Hu was a potential future leader, later writing of him:[7]

He was exceptionally well-briefed on New Zealand's involvement, very focused on taking practical steps to alleviate poverty and improve food supplies taking account of the minority nationality situation, and very interested in what New Zealand was doing and in the prospects for example for grassland development. I felt — noting too the attitude in his presence of other Chinese officials — that there was an aura surrounding Hu Jintao.

After completing his posting in Beijing, Watt expressed his thinking about the future of the relationship between New Zealand and China in the book New Zealand and China towards 2000, published in 1992.[8] In the book, Watt predicted that China would become New Zealand's largest export market by the early 21st century.[9][10]

From 1993 to 2003, Watt was the administrator of Tokelau, based in Wellington,[11] and was the first administrator to serve in a full-time capacity.[12] During Watt's tenure, negotiations between the New Zealand government and Tokelauan customary leaders took place to develop a new constitution for Tokelau as a self-governing nation.[13] This ultimately led to the self-determination referendums of 2006 and 2007, which rejected changing Tokelau's status from an unincorporated New Zealand territory to a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Birth". Southland Times. No. 22363. 30 June 1934. p. 4. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "George James Watt". Lincoln College Magazine. No. 105. 1980. p. 70. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: U–Wh". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Births". The Press. Vol. 103, no. 30518. 13 August 1964. p. 28. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Christchurch Press – October – 1987". Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Representatives of New Zealand to the Cook Islands
  7. ↑ Venter, Nick (25 October 2003). "NZ envoy picked Hu as man to watch". Dominion Post. p. 2.
  8. ↑ Chan, Gerald (July–August 1993). "Review of New Zealand and China: towards 2000 by Lindsay Watt". New Zealand International Review. 18 (4): 25–26.
  9. ↑ Mackey, Roger (5 February 1993). "NZ exporters are missing out on booming China trade". The Independent: New Zealand's Business Weekly. p. 4.
  10. ↑ Barber, David (5 July 1996). "Major transition in trade with China". National Business Review. p. 8.
  11. ↑ New Zealand official yearbook, Registrar-General's Office, New Zealand. Census and Statistics Office, New Zealand. Census and Statistics Dept - 1998 p. 75
  12. ↑ Angelo, A. H. (2009). "The Constitution of Tokelau" (PDF). Revue Juridique Polynésienne. 15: 181–194. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Modern House of Tokelau: self-determination in a Pacific atoll nation". APSNet Policy Foru. 23 February 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  14. ↑ Samasoni, Samson (27 July 2022). "New Zealand's new far, far north? Tokelau set to decide its future". The Spinoff. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
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