New Zealand’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom has been removed from his position after publicly questioning U.S. President Donald Trump’s understanding of history—comments that New Zealand’s government deemed made his role “untenable.”
At a public Chatham House event in London this week, high commissioner Phil Goff posed a question to Finnish foreign affairs minister Elina Valtonen, who was discussing strategies for maintaining peace with Russia, with which Finland shares a border.
Goff referenced Winston Churchill’s 1938 speech to the House of Commons following the Munich Agreement, which allowed Germany to annex part of Czechoslovakia.
“He turned to [Prime Minister Neville] Chamberlain, he said, ‘You had the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, yet you will have war’,” Goff said.
[FILE – Director James Cameron walks in Purmamarca, Jujuy province, Argentina, on June 8, 2023. Cameron says the search operation for a deep-sea tourist sub turned into a “nightmarish charade” that prolonged the agony of the families of the passengers.
Cameron told in an interview broadcast on Friday, June 23, 2023, that he “felt in my bones” that the Titan submersible had been lost soon after he heard it had lost contact with the surface during its descent to the wreckage of the ocean liner at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
“President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?” Goff asked, prompting laughter from the audience.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, New Zealand’s foreign minister Winston Peters called it “seriously regrettable” that he had to take action over Goff’s remarks, adding that he would have done the same had they been made about any other nation’s leader.
New Zealand Ambassador Fired (Photo: Catham House)
Peters described Goff’s comments as “disappointing” and said they rendered his position “untenable.”
“When you’re in that position, you represent the views of the government and the policies of the day – you’re not able to free-think, you are the face of New Zealand,” Peters said.
According to Peters’ office, the secretary of foreign affairs and trade, Bede Corry, will now oversee “the upcoming leadership transition” with Goff.
This development comes as New Zealand works to maintain its relationship with the U.S.—one of its largest export markets—amid broader concerns about the Trump administration’s treatment of its allies.
This week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told the media he trusted Trump but emphasized that New Zealand would continue to “act in our own national interests.”
Goff, a former Labour Party leader and former Auckland mayor, was appointed to the role in 2022 under Jacinda Ardern’s administration. His term was originally set to conclude toward the end of 2025, but that timeline has now been shortened.
In a social media post, former Prime Minister Helen Clark criticized the decision, calling it “a very thin excuse for sacking a highly respected former [New Zealand] foreign minister.”
This is not the first time Goff has made a misstep in his role. During an event in May 2023 for a New Zealand delegation attending the coronation of King Charles, he offended the Māori King, Kīngi Tūheitia, who was present, by stating that no one in the room had experienced a coronation before.
