Gerald Hensley was a link the early days of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later in his career an adviser to two of the country’s most controversial prime ministers at times of high crisis. The Christchurch-born, Canterbury-educated historian joined the Department of External Affairs in 1958, and served in Samoa, at the United Nations, London, Washington, and as High Commissioner to Singapore. In 1980 he became head of the Prime Minister’s Department. While there, Hensley was first embroiled in the devaluation affair, when outgoing prime minister Rob Muldoon refused to accede to a request from the incoming Labour government to devalue the dollar, and then fell foul of a mistrustful David Lange over the issue of nuclear ship visits. In 1990, Hensley was vetoed by the Labour Cabinet when he was proposed as the next Secretary of Defence: National made that appointment the following year, and it was Hensley’s final job until his retirement. Hensley had many stories to tell and he did so in highly entertaining manner in a witty autobiography
Final Approaches. He also drew on his career and training for two historical studies of New Zealand foreign policy. Hensley died on February 10, aged 88.
