New Zealand's ambassador to the United States, Mike Moore, has been appointed for a second term.
The reappointment to Washington was "in light of his impressive work strengthening this important relationship", Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said on Wednesday.
"There is no one better placed to represent New Zealand in Washington as we get to the business end of the Trans-Pacific Partnership process."
Mr Moore, 63, has agreed to serve the second term.
Mr Moore, who was prime minister for two months in 1990 before Labour lost the general election, has been ambassador to the US since 2010 and was director-general of the World Trade Organisation from 1999 to 2002.
Meanwhile, Leon Grice has been named as the next Consul-General in Los Angeles.
Mr Grice recently served as director of NZ2011 at the Ministry of Economic Development and has experience in public relations, marketing and the commercial sector.
He would be responsible for boosting engagement with West Coast technology and film sectors, as well as leveraging New Zealand's participation in next year's America's Cup in San Francisco, Mr McCully said.
NZN