Stuart is a career public servant and diplomat and took up his role as New Zealand Ambassador to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 7 April 2022.
Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in 2013 he has held leadership roles in the Pacific and Development Group, including as Manager Energy, Infrastructure and Environment, Divisional Manager Global Development and Scholarships (including oversight of NZ’s development programme in South East Asia) and as Special Adviser in the office of the Deputy Secretary, before moving to the Europe and Middle East and Australia Group in 2020 and Asia and Americas Group in 2021. He has extensive experience in energy, climate change and development issues. Stuart has previously been posted to Canberra and, most recently, as Deputy Head of Mission in Beijing.
Prior to joining MFAT, Stuart held management roles in a range of policy and international relations teams in the Ministry for the Environment (1995-2001 and 2009-2012) and the Ministry of Economic Development (2001-2008).
Stuart studied Business, Economics and International Development at Massey University. Stuart’s whakapapa (family/tribal ancestry) includes Ngati Toa, Ngati Raukawa and Ngai Tahu. He is married with two children and his interests include cooking, mountain biking and most activities involving water or the ocean.

Hamza Haidon is New Zealand’s Senior Economic Official to ASEAN, and leads the MFA’s Trade Policy Engagement team which is responsible for implementing New Zealand’s free trade agreements with the AANFTA, RCEP and other FTAs. An experienced diplomat and negotiator, he has been posted to Geneva as deputy Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation) and has had assignments in Baghdad and other locations.