ANDREA SMITH

Apec arranger

At 12, Andrea Smith took 40 seconds to spin into submission Rubik’s coloured tiles. Now she’s out of practice – the cube takes about three minutes.

She does the odd crossword but it’s mostly logic puzzles that still draw her in. That mathematician’s desire to find patterns, to see a problem from different angles and mentally map out solutions.

So it’s no wonder she’s almost never grumpy about going to work, as she’s been solving puzzles for three decades.

A career diplomat, 52-year-old Smith’s latest brainteaser has thrown up unexpected twists.

Since May 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) deputy secretary has been organising the government’s biggest-ever event – the year of trade and economic meetings that is Apec 2021.

They’d booked accommodation for the 20,000 people expected to visit from New Zealand and the other 20 Asian and Pacific member countries. They’d sussed out security and immigration. They’d organised airport protocols for the leaders bringing private planes. And they’d booked their showpiece venue – Sky City’s new International Convention Centre.

Then came October 22, 2019 – barely a year before the first Apec events.

‘‘Suddenly appearing at my door were three of my staff, with very worried looks on their faces, saying ‘This is not a joke, this is not a joke – the convention centre is on fire’.’’

The team gathered in front of a television to watch the disaster unfold. Smith turned to the person in charge of venue bookings: ‘‘So, if the convention centre is not available, where are we hosting this?’’.

That turned out to be the least of their worries.

Before the coronavirus had a name, it was on Smith’s radar. She covered leadership shifts for MFAT’s 24/7 emergency co-ordination centre, as they organised the evacuation of Kiwis from then-epicentre Wuhan and watched as the virus engulfed China, went global and became a New Zealand domestic crisis.

For three months, she was Deputy Secretary for Covid, working from home to piece together the ministry’s coronavirus jigsaw – helping foreign diplomats in New Zealand; supporting Kiwis overseas; liaising with other agencies over border restrictions and their diplomatic implications (and whether they were even legal); and trying to look after Kiwi diplomats working in 50 or 60 countries overseas.

On good days, she squeezed in a break between frantic mornings and frantic evenings. On bad days, sleep was elusive.

After three months, it was obvious this thing wasn’t going away. A permanent Covid leader was appointed and Smith returned to her Apec job. By then, it was clear a year of in-person meetings was a pipe dream.

In June, the government announced Apec 2021 would be all-virtual. Asked how that made her feel, Smith the inscrutable diplomat kicks in.

She flicks her long blonde hair and cackles – the same defensive laugh that parries every unwelcome question. Yes there were losses but that was quickly overtaken by excitement about doing something unprecedented, she says.

Was there swearing or screaming? There were a range of reactions and people should be able to have those reactions without that becoming something that gets talked about, she responds.

But what was her reaction? ‘‘My reaction was the decision was inevitable.’’

It’s the same story when asked about the reaction to Donald Trump’s 2016 election, when she was Deputy Secretary for Asia and the Americas. They watched it live in the office. ‘‘Democracy delivers leaders, our job is to work with that,’’ she says. And that’s the only answer you’re getting.

Growing up in Hamilton, the Smiths were known at the library as that family that half-empties the shelves every week.

The eldest of four children, Smith followed her maths-teacher parents, studying maths and German at Waikato University.

She had an interview to become a riskweighing actuary, but ran a mile when the previous year’s graduate exclaimed it was an exciting time because they were recalculating retirement benefits.

Foreign affairs sounded infinitely more interesting and involved travel, which she loves. Almost 30 years later, she’s still there.

‘‘It’s ended up being a whole bunch of really fascinating different issues, requiring a lot of work, a lot of thinking, a lot of engagement with people, to find solutions and make a difference.’’

At her first posting in Brussels, she discovered her schoolgirl French could decipher the newspaper but not order lunch. She helped negotiate a wine agreement between New Zealand and the Economic Union, and delighted in popping over the border to Germany for lunch.

In 2001, she became deputy head of mission in Jakarta, just in time for the September 11 attack, which sparked antiAmerican protests, and the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, which killed three Kiwis.

That shook everyone, and meant most of her tenure was spent on security and counter-terrorism. With a New Zealand government warning against travel, diplomats were stuck in ‘‘big, sprawling, busy, polluted, over-carred’’ Jakarta.

‘‘Suddenly everywhere you went in the car there were men with mirrors running round checking there were no bombs underneath.’’

On one visit to the shopping mall next to her home, she realised she was the only white face. She saw a security guard checking a rubbish bin. Then another. ‘‘I thought, right, I’m outta here.’’

Later, in New Zealand, she wandered into Wellington’s Kirkcaldie & Stains department store and felt odd. She realised it was because no-one had checked her bag or looked twice at her.

‘‘You don’t realise sometimes the extent to which that underlying tension and the precautions that you’re taking become so ingrained you don’t realise it’s having an impact.’’

It obviously didn’t put her off, as in 2009 she became ambassador to Turkey. Four or five times a year, she would leave Ankara’s Kiwi-friendly embrace for the intractable issues of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, seeing first hand the poverty and steely security of the West Bank.

While she couldn’t influence the conflict, she could at least ensure New Zealand had the best information to form a position.

From 2012 to 2017, Smith oversaw MFAT’s Americas and Asia division. She won’t comment on Trump’s impact on the relationship with New Zealand, or how Joe Biden’s election might change that.

She concedes a return to protectionism (favouring local goods over imports) and ‘‘strategic positioning between some members’’ could complicate Apec talks.

That’s one way to describe China and the United States trading trade blows and the Five Eyes partners, including Australia and New Zealand, accusing China of silencing free speech in Hong Kong.

However, Apec leaders have managed to agree a vision and joint leaders’ statement.

Smith remains hopeful New Zealand’s year of hosting Apec, which begins with an informal summit on December 9, will result in concrete change and help the region rebuild after the Covid shock.

Asked why Kiwis should care about Apec, Smith says it has brought tangible improvements, such as visa-free access for Kiwi businesspeople and shorter border processing times for our exports.

Leading the organisation as it decides how to achieve its new 20-year vision also gives New Zealand a hand in shaping that future.

The only remaining puzzle for Smith is deciding what she will do next.