New Zealand Former PM Mike Moore Dies At 71

2 Feb., Kathmandu : New Zealanders are mourning former Prime Minister Mike Moore who passed away on Sunday. Moore was prime minister in 1990, the 34th prime minister of New Zealand. He passed away at his home in Auckland at the age of 71, following a battle with numerous health issues.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that Moore had left enduring legacies to New Zealand and the world for opening up global trade, through both his lead role in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) trade round and in his tenure as director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters lauded Moore as “one of the great New Zealanders”. He also acknowledged Moore’s contribution on the international stage, as the only New Zealander to lead the WTO, and then as New Zealand’s ambassador to the United States. “Everywhere he went, people saw the passion Mike had for New Zealand and connecting it to the world,” said Peters.

New Zealand former Prime Minister Helen Clark, who used to be Moore’s deputy, said Moore was a “passionate New Zealander” who spent his life serving New Zealand and its values. Before becoming prime minister, Moore was New Zealand’s foreign minister and later served as the ambassador to the United States. In 1999, he was appointed the director-general of the WTO.

During Moore’s term in the WTO, global economy and multilateral trading system saw momentous changes. Moore also witnessed China’s accession into the WTO. Moore suffered a stroke in 2015 and had been in declining health in recent years. Xinhua/RSS