U.S. Embassy & Consulate in New Zealand, Cook Islands and Niue

Chargé d'affaires David Gehrenbeck

(Ambassador Tom Udall has departed Post)

David Gehrenbeck began his duties as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand in September 2023 (Chargé d’affaires from January 2025). He has spent most of his career working on countries of the former Soviet Union, including the past three years as political counselor in Kyiv, Ukraine as well as in Georgia, Armenia, Russia, and on the Kyrgyz Republic desk in Washington, DC. At the U.S. Mission to NATO he served as lead for partnerships, including with such global partners as New Zealand. He has also done tours in Australia and Serbia and at the Foreign Service Institute and Operations Center in Washington. He has a Ph.D. in Russian literature from Brown University and a B.A. from Swarthmore College and taught at various levels before joining the State Department. Although he grew up in Rhode Island, David traces his roots to Minnesota. His wife Laura works in applied decorative arts, and they have three grown children.

Get in touch:

To send an invitation to David Gehrenbeck, please email: ProtocolWellington@state.gov.

You can follow Chargé d’affaires David Gehrenbeck on X @USAmbNZ.