Timothy John Groser is a current New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 politician and former diplomat.

Early years

He was born in Perth, Scotland and came to New Zealand with his parents in 1958. After completing his education at Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...

 he served as a policy adviser in a number of key Departments including Treasury, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Prime Minister's Advisory Group under Muldoon.

He was appointed New Zealands chief agricultural negotiator in the GATT Uruguay round before being promoted to Chief Negotiator midway through negotiations. Since then Groser has served as New Zealand's Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to the World Trade Organization

World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

 and as the WTO's chairman of agricultural negotiations. He was heavily involved in the Doha round

Doha round

The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda is the current trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization which commenced in November 2001. Its objective is to lower trade barriers around the world, which will help facilitate the increase of global trade...

 of discussions.

Member of Parliament

In 2005 Groser opted to leave the civil service and run for Parliament. He was selected to stand as a list-only candidate for the National Party

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

 in the 2005 elections

New Zealand general election, 2005

The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...

. He was placed 13th on the list and as a result was comfortably elected.

After the 2008 election

New Zealand general election, 2008

The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...

 he was given a Cabinet

New Zealand Cabinet

The Cabinet of New Zealand functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the New Zealand government system...

 position with the Conservation and Trade portfolios.

External links

• Profile at National party