Nanaia Mahuta Becomes Zealand's First Woman Foreign Affairs Minister

Nanaia Mahuta has been appointed as New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister making her the first woman in the country to hold the profile. NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement regarding her announcement while unveiling her new cabinet on Monday.

Mahuta, who is a Maori by ethnicity (the indigenous people of New Zealand) has been a part of the parliament for two decades. She currently holds ministerial positions with the local government, Maori development, and an associate portfolio in trade. Mahuta will retain her position in the local government and will keep an associate role in Maori development even after her new appointment.

After the current foreign minister Winston Peters lost the 2020 elections, several members of the parliament were expecting senior ministers Andrew Little or David Parker to take the role. Mahuta was an unexpected choice made by the Jacinda Ardern.

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PM Jacinda Ardern, while praising Nanaia Mahuta’s abilities, said, “ She is someone who builds fantastic relationships very, very quickly, and that is one of the key jobs in a foreign affairs role.” She further added, “ you only need to look at the difficult work that she has had to conduct over, for instance, her local government portfolio, and that to me demonstrates those diplomacy skills that we need to represent New Zealand on the world stage,” Stuff reported.

According to the newly appointed foreign minister, New Zealand is a small country that values relationships across the globe. She said she will continue to work for the advantage of the country and its citizens and is keen on making a real impact on the growth of businesses.

Four years ago, Mahuta became the country’s first female member of the parliament to wear a moko kauae, a traditional tattoo on her chin.

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Ardern won the 2020 elections with 49.1 percent votes. The new cabinet appointed by her is being praised for its incredible diversity with women as half of the country’s lawmakers, significantly higher than the global average of 25 percent and it also includes around 10 percent members who are openly from the LGBTQ community, as reported by KRDO.

Image credit: msn.com

Arunima Sharma is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.