 Laking was based in Washington as Ambassador to the United States from 1961 to 1967.This was considered to be the most important of New Zealand's foreign postings, due to the prominence of the United States, and the shift of allegiance away from the United Kingdom towards the US.During this time, the key themes were the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and under President Lyndon B. Johnson, the tumultuous years of escalation of US involvement in Vietnam.