Biography

H.E. Carolyn Schwalger presented her credentials as New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations on 4 January 2022. Since her appointment, Ambassador Schwalger has co-facilitated the modalities for the Summit of the Future and the preparations for the High-Level Meeting to Address the Existential Threats Posed by Sea-Level Rise. Ambassador Schwalger also co-chaired the Preparatory Committee of the 4^th International Conference on Small Island Developing States.

From 2019-21, as the inaugural Chief Executive of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ms Schwalger was responsible for reform of the New Zealand emergency management system. Between 2017-19 Ms Schwalger was Deputy Secretary/Principal Capabilty Adviser at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for leading a wide programme of organisational capability improvement.

Ms Schwalger served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative at the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the United Nations from 2014-17, a period which included the country’s term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. Ambassador Schwalger also co-chaired the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects. Prior to her first posting to New York, Ms Schwalger was responsible for New Zealand’s international environmental diplomacy programme. Ms Schwalger’s early career focused on North Asia, with diplomatic postings to Seoul and Tokyo.