KEY POINTS:
Philip Lewin, who has died suddenly aged 48, made a major contribution to New Zealand's diplomatic efforts, policy trade and Wellington's business strategy.
He became chief executive of Positively Wellington Business in January 2005 and was a major architect of the Wellington Regional Strategy.
From 2001-2004 Lewin was chief executive of the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce and helped the chamber move forward in the area of foreign trade and policy.
Lewin was well known for his career as a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and he held posts in Melbourne, Moscow, Geneva and Washington. He was a member of the NZ-US Council and recently appointed to the Apec Business Advisory Council. Lewin was a Rhodes Scholar, spoke Russian, held a first-class honours English degree from Victoria University and had studied economics at Massey.
Fellow diplomat Charles Finny, who succeeded Lewin at the Wellington Chamber, said his work would continue to be enormously beneficial to the Wellington business community for years to come.
Michael Barnett, chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and member of the NZ-US Council, said Lewin brought a disciplined approach to policy and introduced NZ to important networks in the US.
"He was extremely intelligent, had a really good, analytical mind and through his experience working in the area of policy and ... foreign affairs and trade, he gave us a really good understanding of the sorts of processes you can go through."
Lewin, who died last week, reported back to NZ as Boris Yeltsin challenged the control of the Soviet Communist Party in 1991, was heavily involved in negotiations towards a United States free trade agreement and played a leading role in the free trade agreement with Singapore in 1999.
He was an adviser to Trade Minister Philip Burdon in 1994 when he signed the Uruguay Round Final Act.
