Farewell Halia Hadd
AFTER more than a year holding the fort as New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner to Fiji, Halia Haddad, bade farewell to staff, friends and acquaintances at the New Zealand Commission Official Residence in Suva.
Parliamentary ministers, the business community, and the diplomatic corp turned up in numbers to farewell the young diplomat, who is leaving the foreign service to join the New Zealand National Security Group in the Department of the Prime Minister in the Cabinet.
Dressed in a blue bula floral dress, Ms Haddad, was a picture of radiance as she greeted many of the guests that came for the farewell cocktail party.
“I have absolutely loved being in Fiji, it’s a huge contrast,” she shared.
“I’ve had 11 years in the foreign service and I’ve had a number of different roles in Wellington and offshore, Indonesia, London, Brasilia and now Fiji. Being here has probably the best job I’ve had in the Foreign Service,” she smiled.
Fiji is no stranger to Ms Haddad, who started her career working on Fiji and Samoa in Wellington as a foreign policy analyst. So it was, in her words “a full circle” for her coming back to Fiji.
“I always knew I was going to come back to the
Pacific and I don’t think this is the end of the Pacific or Fiji for me and I’m sure I will be back in the future.”
Ms Hadded grew up in Tauranga, which is about two and a half hours South East of Auckland.
“It’s a beautiful place on the coast, it’s got beaches to rival Fiji, but it’s not quite as warm as Fiji,” she smiled.
“It was a wonderful place to grow up. I then moved to Wellington for university and its been my base ever since.”
Pursuing a role in the diplomatic field wasn’t exactly on her plans when she was completing a Masters Degree in International Relations in Great Britain.
“It was 2008 and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my life, and then the job for foreign affairs came up and I thought, OK I’ll give that a nudge,” she said.
“I applied and I was accepted and I thought ‘ahh, I’ll give this a try’ and do it for as long as it works for me and eleven years later, I’m still here.”
Some of her previous diplomatic posts include senior foreign policy analyst in the Middle East and Latin America, and first secretary, New Zealand Mission to ASEAN Jakarta, trade policy analyst, New Zealand Embassy in Brasilia.
“Honestly its been such a wonderful time being here, I’ve been so warmly welcomed by all Fijians I’ve met across the country although I’ve never really warmed up to kava,” she laughed. “It’s been such a dream job – I can’t really complain about it.”
Her new posting at the National Security Group is expected to be a much different change of pace for her and “a little bit more domestically focused” but she is looking forward to it.
“I enjoy seeing what I’m having an impact or seeing the work
I’m doing is having an impact and I think in the Foreign Service that’s an impact both for New Zealand and for Fijians in Fiji,” she said.
“I’ve loved my time here and the warmth and generosity of the Fijian people that I’ve experienced all over Fiji have been absolutely overwhelming and I’m really going to miss it. It was a really hard decision to leave, it’s heartbreaking to go but it’s been a wonderful experience and I will take back many memories back with me,” she said with finality.