Biography — Christopher Beeby (New Zealand) (1995 - 2000)Christopher Beeby of New Zealand served on the Appellate Body from 1995 to 2000. Born in New Zealand in 1935, he was a career diplomat for more than 30 years, specializing in legal and economic affairs. He retired from government service in mid-1995. Having gained his law degrees from Victoria University of Wellington and the London School of Economics, Mr. Beeby joined the Legal Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1963, where he worked as the legal adviser to his Government's delegation that negotiated the New Zealand-Australia Free Trade Agreement. In 1969, he became Divisional Head. In 1976, he was appointed Head of the Economic Division and held that position until he was posted abroad as Ambassador to Iran and Pakistan, from 1978-1980. Upon returning to Wellington, he served first as Assistant Secretary and from 1985, as Deputy Secretary, supervising, among other things, the Legal and Economic Divisions. In 1992, he became New Zealand's Ambassador to France and Algeria, and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Throughout his long public career, Mr. Beeby obtained extensive expertise
and experience in international law, dealing closely with trade, the GATT
and the Uruguay Round instruments, and the construction and application of
dispute settlement mechanisms in several different contexts. |