An New Zealand Indian will be the country's next governor general, the first person of Asian descent appointed to the role, on Monday.
Justice Anand Satyanand, born and raised in New Zealand by Indian and Fiji Indian parents, will replace Dame Silvia Cartwright in August as the representative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said that Queen Elizabeth had approved the appointment of Satyanand, a lawyer, judge and former Ombudsman. The former judge, who has close ties to Asia and the Pacific, takes up the post in August, she said.
"Judge Satyanand will bring many personal strengths to the role of governor general, including a broad knowledge of the workings of government and law, as well as a deep appreciation of the different groups and communities which make up contemporary New Zealand," Clark said.
Until the early 1970s the post of governor general was the preserve of members of the British nobility, with the first indigenous Maori New Zealander, Sir Paul Reeves, appointed in the 1980s.
