Chris Beeby

Christopher David Beeby (October 1935 – 19 March 2000) was a New Zealand diplomat who held several ambassadorships and was involved in international litigation and negotiations, notably over Antarctic resources. Beeby was New Zealand's ambassador to Iran (1978 to 1980) and to France (1991 to 1996) and was a member of the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body from 1995 to his death in 2000. While ambassador to Iran, Beeby assisted American diplomats in the Iran hostage crisis.

Christopher Beeby
Ambassador of New Zealand to Iran
In office
15 May 1978 – 15 June 1980
New Zealand Deputy-Secretary of Foreign Affairs
In office
1985–1991
Ambassador of New Zealand to France
In office
1991–1996
Member of the Appellate Body
In office
1995 – 19 March 2000
Personal details
BornOctober 1935
Wellington, New Zealand
Died19 March 2000(2000-03-19) (aged 64)
Geneva, Switzerland
RelativesBeatrice Beeby (mother)
C. E. Beeby (father)

Biography

Christopher David Beeby[1][2] was born on 10[3] or 15 October 1935,[2] in Wellington, New Zealand, to C. E. Beeby and Beatrice Beeby.[3] He attended the Victoria University of Wellington and the London School of Economics. He entered the New Zealand Department of Foreign Affairs in 1963 as a legal adviser, first working on the New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement. He was promoted to a divisional head in the department's legal division in 1969 and headed the economic division from 1976 to 1978.[4]

Beeby worked to draft anti-nuclear legislation for New Zealand and served as counsel for New Zealand in the International Court of Justice during the Nuclear Tests Case in 1973 and 1974.[1][5][6] As Ambassador of New Zealand to Iran from 15 May 1978 to 15 June 1980,[7] Beeby was involved in the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, when he, as ambassador, and another employee at the New Zealand embassy, Richard Sewell, helped several American diplomats escape to safety. The New Zealand Herald named Beeby and Sewell the "New Zealanders of the Year for 1979" for their actions.[8][9][10] In 1983 Beeby chaired several negotiations on the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities.[11][12][13][14] He spent six years working towards a convention that eventually manifested as the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.[2]

He was involved in the Rainbow Warrior Case in 1989 to 1990.[1] Beeby was Deputy-Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1991 and Ambassador of New Zealand to France (1992 to 1995).[6] While living in Paris, in 1993 Beeby's offices were raided by French farmers.[2] He was also at one point New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the OECD.[1][5] In 1995 he attempted to mediate an end to the Pacific Salmon War between Canada and the United States, but was unsuccessful. That same year he was appointed as an original member of the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body, which he chaired in 1998. He was still serving upon his death.[1][5]

He died on 19 March 2000 at the age of 64, in Geneva. Phil Goff, then Foreign Minister of New Zealand, said that “Chris Beeby was widely regarded as an exceptional diplomat and one of the best international lawyers of modern times.”[15] Beeby Peak in Antarctica is named after him.[16][6]

References
  1. "DG Moore notes with sadness the passing of appellate judge Beeby". WTO News. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. Kitchin, Peter (30 March 2000). "Geneva, Otaki Forks home to diplomacy's everyman". The Evening Post. p. 7.
  3. Alcorn, Noeline (1999). To the Fullest Extent of His Powers: C.E. Beeby's Life in Education. Victoria University Press. pp. 63, 304. ISBN 978-0-86473-353-5.
  4. WTO Appellate Body Repertory of Reports and Awards: 1995–2010. Cambridge University Press. 28 April 2011. p. 1174. ISBN 978-1-139-50149-1.
  5. "New Zealand Diplomat Beeby Dies". AP NEWS. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  6. "A 'most brilliant' diplomat". The Press. 23 March 2000.
  7. "New Zealand Heads of Overseas Missions". NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 11 February 2007. Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  8. "1979, Chris Beeby and Richard Sewell: The Argo story". NZ Herald. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  9. "NZ diplomats 'heroic' - Argo escapee". Stuff. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  10. Fisher, Max. "Why New Zealand is officially, earnestly upset about 'Argo'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  11. Day, David (3 June 2013). Antarctica: A Biography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-932362-3.
  12. Shapley, Deborah (26 November 2013). The Seventh Continent: Antarctica in a Resource Age. Routledge. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-135-99386-3.
  13. Nagtzaam, Gerry (2009). The Making of International Environmental Treaties: Neoliberal and Constructivist Analyses of Normative Evolution. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-84980-348-9.
  14. Bilder, Richard B.; Mansfield, William R.; Joyner, Christopher C.; Barnes, James N.; Chopra, Sudhir K. (1985). "Who Has the Right of Exploitation, and the Right to Prevent Exploitation, of the Minerals in Antarctica?". Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law). 79: 68. ISSN 0272-5037. JSTOR 25658245.
  15. "Passing of Distinguished Diplomat Chris Beeby". The Beehive. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  16. "Beeby Peak". SCAR Composite Gazetteer. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
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