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Hon Tim Groser

Tim was born in Perth, Scotland and came to New Zealand with his parents in 1958. After completing his education at Victoria University, where he obtained First Class Honours, he served as a policy adviser in a number of key Departments including Treasury, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Prime Minister's Advisory Group.

He has served New Zealand with distinction in a number of capacities, including being New Zealand's Chief Negotiator in the GATT Uruguay Round: the Round that brought agriculture into the system of world trade rules for the first time and conferred substantial benefits on the NZ economy.

Tim is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on international trade, and until recently was New Zealand's Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Chair of Agricultural Negotiations for the WTO. As the Listener editorial of 14 August 2004 put it: 'Much [progress] appears due to the Olympian effort of New Zealand's Ambassador to the WTO, Tim Groser. Described recently as 'the most powerful man in world agriculture' Groser was responsible for brokering the final groundbreaking deal in a marathon 13-hour session'.

Tim was elected to the New Zealand Parliament as a List MP in the 2005 General Election and again in 2008.