David Huebner served as the American Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa from 2009 to 2014.  Under his leadership, his two Embassies became test beds of 21st Century diplomacy focused on digital media, student and future leader engagement, and whole-of-society outreach.  He was also a driver of enhanced security cooperation, for which he was awarded the U.S. Navy's Distinguished Public Service medal, and outside commentators have noted that during his tenure bilateral relations became stronger and deeper than at any point since World War II.  He was the first openly LGBT person ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead a diplomatic Mission, and artifacts from his time as Ambassador, including his and his spouse’s diplomatic passports, have been taken into the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection of American history.

Before being nominated by President Obama, Ambassador Huebner worked extensively in the Asia Pacific region, including as chairman and CEO of a large international law firm, founding chief representative of a law firm in Shanghai, and special policy assistant to a member of the lower house of Japan’s Diet.  A recognized authority on cross-border dispute resolution and regulatory compliance, the Ambassador has represented governments, corporations, and individuals in arbitration, mediation, and other proceedings before international institutions and in numerous jurisdictions around the world.  

Ambassador Huebner is now an independent arbitrator, corporate director, and international affairs consultant based in Southern California. He is licensed as a lawyer in California, New York, and the District of Columbia and as a solicitor in England & Wales.  Listed on the panels of arbitrators of several international institutions, he is a Fellow of the London-based Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and serves on the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce’s Commission on Arbitration. 

Ambassador Huebner earned his JD from Yale Law School and his AB, summa cum laude, from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He taught international law and business at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law for nine years and has lectured on international law and policy at universities in China, Germany, and Australasia. He was named a Distinguished Fellow of the Auckland University of Technology's Faculty of Business and Law in recognition of his work in the area of science and technology cooperation.