New Zealand has dismissed its most senior envoy to the United Kingdom following remarks that questioned US President Donald Trump’s understanding of history.
During an event in London on Tuesday, High Commissioner Phil Goff compared efforts to end the Russia- Ukraine war to the 1938 Munich Agreement, which permitted Adolf Hitler to annex part of Czechoslovakia.
Mr. Goff recalled Sir Winston Churchill’s criticism of the agreement, then said, “President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?”
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters called his comments “deeply disappointing” and said they made his position “untenable.”
Goff’s remarks came after Trump paused military aid to Kyiv following a contentious exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week.
The High Commissioner contrasted Trump with Churchill who, while estranged from the British government, opposed the Munich Agreement as capitulation to Nazi Germany’s threats.
Mr. Goff quoted Churchill’s rebuke to then UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain: “You had the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, yet you will have war.”
Peters emphasized that Goff’s views did not represent the New Zealand government’s position.
“When you are in that position, you represent the government and the policies of the day, you’re not able to free think, you are the face of New Zealand,” local media reported Peters saying.
“It’s not the way you behave as the front face of a country, diplomatically,” he added, noting he would have taken the same action regardless of which country was discussed.
Goff is a veteran politician who has served as high commissioner since January 2023. Previously, he was mayor of Auckland for two terms and led the Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He also held several ministerial portfolios, including justice, foreign affairs, and defence.
Peters, who is also deputy prime minister, told reporters he decided to dismiss Phil Goff without consulting Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
When questioned about Luxon being New Zealand’s leader, Peters responded: “I know he’s the prime minister, I made him the prime minister.”
The 79-year-old Peters, who previously worked with Goff in government, leads the New Zealand First party, which joined Luxon’s National Party and the Act Party in 2023 to form the current center-right coalition government.
For his part, Luxon said Peters’ decision to fire Goff without consultation was “entirely appropriate.”
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark criticized Goff’s dismissal, calling it backed by a “very thin excuse.”
“I have been at Munich Security Conference recently where many draw parallels between Munich 1938 and US actions now,” she wrote on X.
Under the 1938 Munich Agreement, Hitler gained control of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland. The deal failed to prevent Nazi Germany’s expansion in Europe, and World War Two began when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.
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