Norman Kirk's global diplomacy: Ken Ross argues the case for Norman Kirk's pre-eminence among post-1945 prime ministers in projecting New Zealand overseas.

• Author: Ross, Ken

Of New Zealand's fifteen prime ministers since 1945, Norman Kirk has pride of place in projecting New Zealand internationally. In branding New Zealand as a progressive small state, with a deep internationalism central to our national identity, he not only inspired a pinnacle moment for our global diplomacy but also established an enduring role, one best suited to our strengths --that of being a good international citizen. His outstanding effort has been cemented in place by the strong support performances of some of his successors on both sides of the political divide, notably David Lange, Jim Bolger and Helen Clark.

'I joined the Labour Party because Norman Kirk spoke for me on the folly of external involvement in the Vietnamese civil war and the immorality of apartheid and nuclear weapons. It has been among the great satisfactions of my life to see those positions become accepted as mainstream views in New Zealand.' (Helen Clark) (1)

Norman Kirk has been the most capable of our prime ministers since 1945 for projecting New Zealand internationally. His branding in the early 1970s of New Zealand as a progressive small state, with a deep internationalism central to our national identity, was an inspired moment for New Zealand's international reputation. In doing so he evoked the diplomatic role that has come to best suit us: being a good international citizen.

Global diplomacy is what prime ministers do to advance their government's foreign policy.

A new look at Kirk's global diplomacy is warranted. My key conceptual ideas--including Dag Hammarskjold's 'maturity of mind' and Henry Kissinger's 'intellectual capital'--that highlight Kirk's ranking ahead of the other fourteen prime ministers we have had since 1945 were outlined in this journal's previous issue. This article is a short version of the two chapters on Kirk that are in my forthcoming book on the global diplomacy of New Zealand prime ministers since 1945. One of the chapters covers how it was that Kirk's maturity of mind and his intellectual capital were match-fit when he became prime minister. The second chapter sets out, on the basis of Kirk's actions while prime minister, the case for the Kirk brand being our best.

Kirk's top rating is due to three factors: his portfolio of diplomatic attainments that constitute the basis of the Kirk brand; the fact that David Lange, Jim Bolger and Helen Clark have ensured the brand is still the smartest basis for global diplomacy by New Zealand prime ministers; and Kirk being match-fit when he became prime minister to immediately commence his global diplomacy.

Important assets

When Kirk arrived at the prime minister's office on 8 December 1972, he was already friends with the leaders overseas who were going to most enable him to make his mark. In addition, he was to be exceptionally served by his foremost mandarin, Frank Corner, the secretary of foreign affairs and the head of the Prime Minister's Department. Corner, in turn, was ably supported by his senior departmental officials, particularly Malcolm Templeton. During Kirk's time Templeton was a Wellington-based deputy secretary and then from September 1973 New Zealand's permanent representative at the United Nations in New York, a pivotal position for promoting Kirk's vision.

In their subsequent writings, Corner and Templeton provide the smartest record of Kirk's handling of New Zealand's foreign policy while he was prime minister. Corner's principal contribution is a lengthy chapter in Margaret Clark (ed), Three Labour Leaders. (2) Templeton's chapter in the same book covers Kirk's performance on his iconic initiatives--nuclear weapons and racism. (3) Templeton has added to that contribution with his books, particularly Human Rights and Sporting Contacts: New Zealand Attitudes to Race Relations in South Africa 1921-94 (1998) and Standing Upright Here: New Zealand in the Nuclear Age 1945-1990 (2006).

Scholars have been tentative about Kirk's accomplishments. A decade ago, in their respective histories of New Zealand, Michael King and James Belich were far from fulsome about Kirk's 20 months as prime minister. David Capie has subsequently commented briefly on Kirk's global diplomacy, (4) and Jon Johansson has done so with more brevity. (5) Otherwise there has been no substantial academic commentary on Kirk's global diplomacy since Malcolm McKinnon's 1993 book Independence and Foreign Policy.

Foremost sources

More generally, Margaret Hayward's Diary of the Kirk Years (1981) and John Dunmore's Norman Kirk: A Portrait (1972) are the foremost sources for constructing a portrait of...