Photo: Gerard O'Brien
The gesture was an acknowledgement of the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman, the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler, aged 79.
He ruled Oman from 1970 after deposing his father in a bloodless coup, and sought to establish a modern government and use oil money to develop the country, the BBC reported.
The directive to lower flags to halfmast on government buildings in New Zealand was usually a direction from the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.
