The newly appointed high commissioner to Britain, Russell Marshall, will spend the rest of this year preparing to becoming the "face of New Zealand" in London.
Mr Marshall replaces former National cabinet minister Paul East, who is due to complete his three-year term in February.
Mr Marshall, aged 65, sees his roleas "being the New Zealand face, day in and day out" not only to politicians and people in Britain, but also to their equals in New Zealand who sought to make and maintain links with Britain.
The former Labour MP said he was pleasantly surprised at his appointment to the role.
Mr Marshall was Wanganui MP from 1972 to 1990, serving in a number of ministerial roles including education and foreign affairs in the Labour Governments of 1984 and 1987. He is a former Methodist minister and was once known as the "Red Reverend" when he led a 1960s protest against the Vietnam war.
National Prime Minister Rob Muldoon resurrected the title when Mr Marshall entered politics.
He is chancellor of Victoria University and chairman of the Education New Zealand Trust, the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission (Teac) and consultancy body Polytechnics International, all roles he will relinquish when he takes up his new position.
He was chairman of the New Zealand National Commission for the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) from 1990 until early 1999, and has chaired the New Zealand branch of the Cambodia Trust since he helped set it up in 1994. He is also a director of the UK branch of the trust, which works with land mine victims, and will take over the chairmanship of the international body next year.
When he received his Order of Merit, Mr Marshall said: "I don't know why people get these things but I like to think it's as much to do with what I've done in the years since Parliament as those 18 years of politics."
Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said Mr Marshall had a good understanding of international affairs and Britain was more than just our market within the European Union.
Mr Marshall is about to join Prime Minister Helen Clark on a 10-day trip to Japan, China and Hong Kong as part of a business delegation. He will be travelling in his role as chairman of the Education New Zealand Trust, which works to attract international students to New Zealand universities.
