Malcolm McGoun has been a New Zealand Diplomat serving in Seoul, The Hague, Paris and Kuala Lumpur. A New Zealand Ambassador in Hanoi, Vietnam and named High Commissioner to South Africa...

Malcolm attended King’s High School from 1963-1967. He had a very successful school career being both Head Boy and Dux in 1967.

Malcolm played for the 1st XI Hockey Team and was a Petty Officer in the School Sea Cadet Unit. He was in the school Brass Band 1963-1966 (playing the second trombone) and in 1966 played the lead role of the Professor in a school production of Eugene Ionesco's 'The Lesson'.

At the 1967 School Prizegiving Malcolm was awarded the Dunedin Repertory Society Prize underprizes for written and spoken English, the prize for Proficiency in French presented by the French Legation and Prize for All-Round Merit presented by the Old Boys' Association.

On leaving school Malcolm attended the University of Otago 1968-1971 from where he graduated with First Class Honours in French.

Malcolm went on to become a New Zealand Diplomat. From 1972-2000 he served successively in Seoul, The Hague, Paris and Kuala Lumpur with periods at home in the Ministry in Wellington between those assignments. 

From 2000-2004 he served as New Zealand Ambassador in Hanoi and Vietnam. The next two years were spent as the Chief of Protocol in the Ministry. 

From 2006-2008 he was named High Commissioner to South Africa with concurrent accreditation to Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Following a second term as Chief of Protocol in Wellington.

In 2010 he retired and since his retirement has spread his time between Auckland and Paris (where his French partner still works).