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Who Is Phil Goff, Sacked NZ High Commissioner To The UK?
The now-former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Phil Goff, has been sacked for comments about US President Donald Trump, but Goff's time in the role is just another bullet point on the career politician's lengthy resume.
A member of the Labour Party since his teenage years, Goff was MP for the Roskill electorate from 1981 until 1990, then again in 1993 until the electorate was folded into New Lynn three years later.
He then won that seat, too, working as New Lynn's MP until Mount Roskill became its own electorate once again in 1999. He held onto that seat until 2016.
During that time Goff climbed the political ladder, first becoming Minister of Housing under David Lange, then Minister of Employment and Minister of Education.
He became the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Helen Clark, then becoming Minister of Defence and ultimately succeeding Clark as party leader in 2008.
Goff led Labour into the 2011 general election, where National under Prime Minister John Key won a plurality of about 47 percent of the vote.
Throughout the John Key years Labour burned through several leaders, Goff deciding to abandon Parliament to run for mayor of Auckland in 2016.
After two terms as mayor Goff decided to retire from the position in 2022 and suggested he planned to leave politics entirely.
He was selected to be New Zealand's high commissioner to the United Kingdom the following year.
Goff attracted scrutiny within just a few months of taking that position, after he caused offence to Kīngi Tūheitia ahead of King Charles' coronation by forgetting to perform a karakia and declaring that nobody in the room had witnessed a coronation.
This week's remarks about Donald Trump proved to be the final straw for Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters, who has ejected Goff from the position after just two years.
Former prime minister Helen Clark has opposed Peters' decision, describing it as a "very thin excuse for sacking a highly respected former Foreign Minister".
Will Goff's time as high commissioner prove the end to a 44-year political career, or a minor detour on his lengthy resume?
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