Udalls adjusting well to life in New Zealand with help of art

Former New Mexico attorney general, politician named ambassador to Pacific nation by Biden

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — This beautiful city is a long way from Santa Fe.

The trip goes like this: Albuquerque to Los Angeles. Los Angeles to Auckland. Auckland to Wellington.

In all, it takes about 20 hours. Distance not withstanding, Tom and Jill Udall have made Wellington their home.

Tom Udall, a former U.S. Senator from New Mexico, member of the U.S. House of Representatives and onetime state attorney general, said he has settled into his newest job: U.S. ambassador to New Zealand.

“I am honored to be in this wonderful country representing the United States,” Udall said.

His new post is comprised of two islands in the South Pacific that, like Santa Fe, attract millions of visitors from all over the world.

Unlike Santa Fe, the lure is beaches and vineyards, not deserts and mountains.

New Zealand is an increasingly important place for U.S. foreign policy: It’s a key American ally in a part of the world where China’s influence has continued to grow. To deal with that reality, the U.S. has dedicated more resources and announced new initiatives.

Udall has been at the forefront of some of those moves during the Biden administration.

Jill Udall, an active player in the art world in Washington, New York and New Mexico, also has fit in: With the help of the Tia Collection in Santa Fe and the Art in Embassies program, she has brought Native American pieces to the embassy, allowing visitors to share in the culture of the Southwest.

Contemporary works of art by Fritz Scholder, T.C. Cannon, Rose B. Simpson, Michael Naranjo and many other Native American artists hang in the diplomatic residence. Jill Udall and a local museum director recently organized a show that exhibited Indigenous Maori art alongside Native American art.