This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Former World Trade Organisation leader and New Zealand prime minister Mike Moore has died at the age of 71.

He died at his home in Auckland early on Sunday, his wife Yvonne Moore said.

Moore served as third director general of the WTO from 1999 to 2002, overseeing China’s entry into the rules-based trading system and the infamous “Battle in Seattle” protest riots.

He had a long political career in New Zealand but his tenure as prime minister was for just two months in 1990 before he was defeated in an election. Moore also served five years as New Zealand’s ambassador to the US before suffering a stroke in 2015.

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said Moore had dedicated his life to serving the country. “The world lost a man with a huge intellect, and huge heart, today.”