New Caledonia represented in Wellington during the ceremony for the presentation of the Letters of Credence by the newly-appointed French Ambassador to New Zealand

07 July 2015

Information

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A graduate from the Ecole Nationale d'Administration – (National School of Administration) in 1984, Ms. Florence Jeanblanc-Risler worked for the last three and a half years and until end of 2014 both as the Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs and as the Head of the Regional Economic Service of the French Embassy in Japan, under the jurisdiction of the Directorate-General of the Treasury.

Replacing H.E. Ambassador Mr. Laurent Contini, who had been working in Wellington since September 2013, H.E. Ms. Jeanblanc-Risler officially took the reins of the French Embassy in New Zealand on Tuesday 3rd March, during a ceremony at Government House in Wellington (Photo).

New Zealand made both the appointment and accreditation of the new Ambassador official during the ceremony for the presentation of Letters of Credence to the representative of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II in New Zealand, Governor-General Sir Jermiah Mateparea, of Māori descent and former army chief of New Zealand,

A Letter of Credence is an official document signed by the Head of State or of Government and conferred on the newly-appointed ambassador, who is then  to give it to the Head of State of Government of the host country.

The French Ambassador was accompanied by three major diplomatic delegates in Wellington, in order of precedence: Ms. Agnes Hamilton, Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Raynald Belay, Counsellor for Cultural and Scientific Cooperative Action (COCAC), and the Official Representative for New Caledonia to New Zealand, Dr. Yves Lafoy.

Held in New Zealand, this ceremony takes on a distinctive nature as it brings together three complementary New Zealand customs and traditions: a wero (a traditional M­āori challenge performed by an armed warrior to determine if the visitor comes in peace), saluting and reviewing the military guard of honour and finally the presentation of the Letters of Credence to the Governor-General.