Who is in the Embassy

Patrick Rata, Ambassador of New Zealand to the Republic of Korea

Patrick Rata

New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Korea

Patrick Rata is New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Korea. He will also be cross-accredited to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He arrived in Seoul in February 2012.

A career diplomat, Ambassador Rata's career has had a particular focus on multilateral issues, with postings to the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, where he worked on Security Council issues and was also elected a Vice Chair of the UN Third Committee, and London, where he covered Commonwealth issues.

In 2009 and 2010, Ambassador Rata headed the Koreas and Japan Unit in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Ambassador Rata has also had a separate career in the trade field, working for ten years as a senior official at the World Trade Organization, including as Chief du Cabinet in the Director-General's office in 2002.

Ambassador Rata attended Auckland University where he received a Master of Arts (First Class) degree. His wife, Karen Lee Rata, is a lawyer working at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. They have two children. Ambassador Rata's interests include music and sport. 

Daniel Mellsop

Deputy Head of Mission 

Daniel Mellsop is the Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy. He has worked on a diverse range of issues in his Foreign Service career, from trade negotiations to counter-terrorism. His previous posting was to The Hague, The Netherlands. Before arriving in Seoul in 2011 he was seconded to the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Daniel holds a Masters Degree in economics from the University of Waikato.

Graeme Solloway

New Zealand Trade Commissioner

Graeme Solloway commenced as Trade Commissioner in Seoul for the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) in December 2008. He was previously the Director of the Industry Capability Network at NZTE, assisting New Zealand companies into large-scale engineering project opportunities. His prior experience was predominantly in the ICT and telecommunications industry having had sales, marketing and commercial roles at IBM New Zealand and Telecom New Zealand. Graeme has a science background, with a Bachelor of Science (with Honours) in Geology, and he commenced his career as an Exploration Geologist in Western Australia. He also has an MBA, graduating with Distinction class.

Colonel Jeremy Ramsden

New Zealand Defence Attaché

Colonel Jeremy Ramsden assumed the appointment of New Zealand Defence Attaché to Korea and Chief, New Zealand Liaison Mission to United Nations Command in July 2011. He will hold the appointments for three years. Colonel Ramsden has over thirty years service with the New Zealand Defence Force in a wide variety of operational and staff appointments, particularly at the strategic level. He is married with two children, has a Master of Philosophy degree in Development Studies and is a Fellow of both the Asia Pacfic Centre for Security Studies, Hawaii and the National Defence University, Beijing.

Peter Cox

First Secretary (Admin) and Consul

Peter Cox is First Secretary Administration and the Consul. He has been with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for over 30 years and Seoul is his eighth overseas posting. At the Embassy he manages staff, property, finance, consular and immigration work.

Charles Boulton

Second Secretary (Political)

Charles Boulton is Second Secretary Political, covering political issues, including New Zealand-Korea bilateral relations, South Korean domestic politics, North Korea, and international fisheries issues. He studied Korean for two years before starting in the Embassy, and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2006. Prior to that he studied philosophy and physics at the University of Otago.

Roger Dungan

Second Secretary (Trade and Economic)

Roger Dungan is Second Secretary Trade and Economic. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2007. Prior to that he was an award-winning scientist at Canterbury University. He holds a PhD in Plant Ecology from Lincoln University, and leads the Embassy's work on climate change and science and technology cooperation. His major focus is on progressing the Korea-New Zealand FTA. Roger lives in Seoul with his wife and three young children.

Joanna McLeod

Second Secretary (Trade and Economic)

Joanna McLeod is Second Secretary Trade and Economic at the Embassy, working on economic and trade access related issues. She studied Korean for two years before starting her duties at the Embassy. She has previous experience both as the desk officer in Wellington for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao, and as a lawyer at Wellington law firm Chapman Tripp.