The Honorary Consul of Switzerland in New Zealand, Adrian Blaser, lives about an hour’s drive from Auckland on what is known as a ‘lifestyle block’ – a small farm designed as a place to live rather than for agricultural production.
zVg
Few Swiss honorary consulates are further away from home than the one in Auckland, New Zealand. Since 2019, Adrian Blaser, a chemist from Bern who works in cancer research, has represented Switzerland there, alongside his hobbies of brewing beer and playing the alphorn.
Adrian Blaser has held the position of Swiss honorary consul in Auckland since 2019, at what may be Switzerland’s most remote outpost.
Now 53 years old, Blaser moved to New Zealand in 2001. He flew to the other side of the world with his wife and their son, who was 18 months old at the time. “We only planned to stay for a year,” says Blaser on the phone.
Swissinfo is featuring people like Adrian Blaser in Auckland, part of a network of Swiss honorary consuls who represent Switzerland on a voluntary basis. They assist Swiss citizens in emergencies, maintain professional relationships in the region, and promote cultural and economic relations where there is no official representation.
There are 225 Swiss honorary consulates worldwide. Their work is voluntary, yet indispensable for Swiss citizens living abroad, and ensures that Switzerland continues to have an active presence around the world. In the coming weeks, Swissinfo will be introducing you to some of these “hobby diplomats”.
Since then, they had two more children, and the family now live about an hour’s drive outside Auckland on a so-called “lifestyle block”. It is a small farm with two cows, ducks, and a large vegetable garden. “That’s how things turned out,” he says, reflecting on the past 24 years.
From club president to honorary consul
Adrian Blaser and his family in 2017, hiking the Te Araroa Trail – a 3,000 km trail across New Zealand.
zVg
Blaser is a jack of all trades. The chemist, who earned his doctorate at the University of Bern, works in cancer research at the University of Auckland. In his spare time, he brews beer and distils schnapps, hobbies he picked up during the Covid-19 lockdowns. He also regularly plays Swiss card games and has been learning to play the Alphorn for the past six years. Now he plays the alphorn he received as a 50th birthday present.
Blaser has long been involved in the Swiss community in New Zealand. He became a member of the Auckland Swiss Club in 2006, served as its president for five years, and supported numerous activities organised by Swiss expatriates in the region. His active involvement eventually brought him, in 2018, to the attention of those involved with the honorary consulate.
“I was asked if I would like to take on the role,” says Blaser. Curious, he applied for the position.
Recruitment involved the Swiss embassy in Wellington, the foreign ministry in Bern, and the New Zealand authorities. The process took some time. Because Blaser was also serving as a justice of the peace in New Zealand, it was necessary to check whether the two offices were compatible.
Time-consuming volunteer work
Blaser’s role combines official duties with personal commitment. “Every day I receive phone calls and emails about visas, passports and other consular matters,” says Blaser. “I often have to explain why, as honorary consul, I am not allowed to do certain things myself,” he says. Visa or passport requests can only be processed by the embassy in Wellington. Occasionally, he has to make the case for the consulate’s importance, despite its limited administrative capacity.
What does an honorary consul actually do? Our explainer:
More
More
Switzerland expands voluntary honorary consul network
Blaser is in close contact with the Swiss embassy in Wellington and meets representatives from around 70 other foreign consulates stationed in Auckland. “We meet once a month,” he says. He is also active in the New Zealand Europe Business Council, where he does more than just perform representative duties. “If you are Swiss, they always ask you to be the treasurer,” he says.
In 2024, there were 7,380 Swiss nationals living in New Zealand. Around 2,500 of them are in Auckland. “Of course, I don’t know all of the 2,500 Swiss people we have here,” says Blaser, “but I do know quite a few.”
When more than 1,000 Swiss needed to get home
Blaser took up his post shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He remembers well the lockdown. When New Zealand sealed its borders in 2020, he stepped in to help many Swiss tourists who did not know how to get home. “At that time, around 1,100 Swiss nationals wanted to return,” says Blaser. He and his family organised accommodation and assisted those stranded with repatriation flights. Some people even found a place to stay at his house. “On April 8, 2020, my whole family was at the airport looking after people before their flight home.”
“Although the job requires a few hours of work per week, it is entirely compatible with family life and work,” he says. His wife is an osteopath, and the children are now grown up. At home, his family mostly speaks English, though they all speak Swiss German as well. When the children were between 10 and 11 years old, they spent three months in Switzerland and attended school there.
More
More
Everything you need to know about the Swiss Abroad
How long does Blaser intend to remain in office? “Both my predecessors served for more than 20 years. I will continue for as long as it’s fun,” he says. The mandate of honorary consul must be confirmed by the foreign ministry every four years and can be extended until the age of 70.
“What I really like is the direct contact with people,” says Blaser. “You serve as a link between the official channels and the Swiss community living here.” He finds it particularly rewarding to be able to help when someone is seriously ill, for example, by visiting them in hospital. He also values the cooperation with the embassy and the exchange with other honorary consuls.
The Swiss Abroad still caught in New Zealand’s one-pension rule
One major challenge in New Zealand is the country’s complex pension system. “Many Swiss Abroad are glad to have someone they can contact when it comes to issues between New Zealand’s pension scheme and the Swiss old-age and survivors’ insurance.” This issue is a constant source of confusion.
Why Swiss citizens receive a lower pension in New Zealand:
More
More
Kiwi pension tension heads for showdown
For Blaser, the role of honorary consul means above all a broadening of horizons. “You get to know people from all walks of life, you can help them, and at the same time maintain your connection with your homeland,” he says. Thus the chemist, beer brewer, alphorn player and honorary consul in Auckland combines science, enjoyment, and consular service into an unusual yet satisfying blend.
Edited by Balz Rigendinger. Adapted from German by David Kelso Kaufher/gw.
