Wed, 09 Dec 2009 6:10p.m.
David Huebner
By Scott Campbell
The new US ambassador has presented his credentials in Wellington today and officially moved into his new home in the capital.
He's Barack Obama's man and a rugby lover, but 49-year-old David Huebner is anything but the normal diplomat. He is also a former lawyer, gay, and a self-confessed compulsive wine drinker.
"I'm looking forward from essentially drinking from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the mainland, to see what you have got to offer," he says.
Mr Huebner arrived two days ago, with only one suitcase. He says he did not have enough time to pack before jetting out to his new home in Lower Hutt. Until Friday he was based in China as the head of a major law firm working on international disputes. But the man whose job it is to chat says he once struggled at just that.
"When I was a child my family actually thought I was developmentally challenged because I didn't speak, I didn't even make the normal sounds," says Mr Huebner.
That changed at age four, and now he has no problem with the serious talk, describing the US-New Zealand relationship as excellent. He says Obama wants to open up the trade lines and move closer together.
Huebner's African-American partner will join him in March. He says vice-president Joe Biden offered him a few words about his sexuality as he was sworn in last week.
"[He said] that the gay issue made the day a little bit more special for American democracy, but it certainly wasn't the reason I was chosen, and it wasn't the reason I was chosen for here."
Mr Heubner says he's an avid rugby fan, having played the game since college. He prefers it to grid iron, and claims he'll don a costume for next year's Wellington sevens.
"I have a passion in particular for the sevens which is why I'm delighted Wellington has a marvellous sevens, I'm hoping some of you have access to tickets."
Mr Heubner says he won't be getting hitched here despite the opportunity for a civil union. He also doesn't anticipate asking New Zealand for further troops to Afghanistan - he says we already contribute enough.
3 News
