page_title: Winston Peters
section_title: Foreign affairs
hierarchical_section_title: Winston Peters / Sixth Labour Government (2017–present) / Foreign affairs
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters during a pull- aside meeting at the second annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. on July 17, 2019. [State Department photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]
context_page_description: Winston Raymond Peters PC MP is a New Zealand politician who has served since 2017 as the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was previously Treasurer of New Zealand and Deputy Prime Minister from 1996 to 1998. Peters has led the populist New Zealand First party since its foundation in 1993. He has been a member of Parliament since 2011, having previously served from 1979 to 1981 and 1984 to 2008.
  Peters was born in the Northland city of Whangārei. He is of mixed parentage, his father being Māori and his mother being of Scottish descent. Widely known simply as "Winston", Peters has had a long and turbulent political career since first entering Parliament following the National Party win of the 1978 general election. Throughout his career, he has called for more focused and restrictive immigration policies. He has advocated benefits for senior citizens, criticised the media and "elitism", and has favoured socially conservative policies.
  Peters first served as a Cabinet minister when Jim Bolger led the National Party to victory in 1990.
context_section_description: As Minister of Foreign Affairs, his commitments include the initiation of a closer economic relations agreement with the UK, Australia, Canada, and other Commonwealth countries and to work towards a bilateral free-trade agreement with the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union. In July 2019, during a visit to Washington D.C., Peters proposed a bilateral free-trade agreement between New Zealand and the United States.
  On 5 May 2020, Peters expressed support for Taiwan rejoining the World Health Organization during a press conference. Peter's announcement was welcomed by the Taiwanese Government, which reiterated its friendship with New Zealand. The New Zealand Government subsequently announced its support for Taiwan's bid to join the WHO, putting NZ alongside Australia and the United States who have taken similar positions. In response, the Chinese Embassy issued a statement reminding Wellington to adhere to the One China Policy. In response, Peters told the Chinese Ambassador to "listen to her master", and stated that New Zealand should follow Taiwan's example of making the wearing of face masks compulsory. Peter's remarks were criticised by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who warned that they violated the One China Policy and would hurt China-New Zealand relations. Peters has stood by his remarks.
  On 28 July, Peters announced that New Zealand was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to the Hong Kong national security law, which he claimed "eroded rule of law principles" and undermined the "one country, two systems" rule. In response, the Chinese Embassy criticised the New Zealand Government for violating international law and norms, and interfering in China's internal affairs.
caption: Peters meets US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 17 July 2018
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