List of ambassadors of Australia to the United States

The ambassador of Australia to the United States is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the director of the Embassy of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United States of America. The embassy is located in Washington, D.C. It is Australia's third-oldest ambassadorial post, after the High Commissions in London (1910) and Ottawa (1939). The role has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. The current ambassador, since March 2023, is Kevin Rudd.^[1][2] The ambassador's work is assisted by multiple consulates throughout the country that have visiting and reporting responsibilities, as well as consular and trade matters for the embassy.

Ambassador of Australia to the United States
Incumbent Kevin Rudd since 20 March 2023
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style	His Excellency
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Residence	White Oaks, 3120 Cleveland Avenue, Washington DC
Seat	Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	The Lord Casey
Formation	1 March 1940
Website	Embassy of Australia

Posting history

The United States and Australia have had official diplomatic relations since 1 March 1940, when Australia established a legation in Washington as one of its first independent postings. Prior to that, Australia had been represented by the British Embassy in Washington, either through a representative of the Australian government or simply by British officials on Australia's behalf. During 1929, Prime Minister Stanley Bruce appointed Herbert Brookes as "Commissioner-General to the United States", with a mandate to promote "Australian achievements in economic, musical, artistic, literary and intellectual fields". However, Brookes was recalled the next year by James Scullin (Bruce's successor), as a cost-saving measure during the Depression.^[3][4] During 1937, Joseph Lyons (Scullin's successor) appointed Keith Officer as a liaison officer posted with the British Embassy, with the diplomatic rank of "Counsellor". Officer continued in the job until February 1940 when he became the charge d'Affaires, pending the arrival of Casey as the first Minister.^[5][6]

First established as a legation directed by an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on 19 July 1946 the diplomatic representative was promoted to embassy status and the Australian Minister, Frederic Eggleston became the first Ambassador. The job is seen as very desirable, and political appointees are regularly posted. Several distinguished Australians have served as Ambassador to the United States, including a former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (Kevin Rudd), future Governor-General of Australia (Richard Casey), a future Chief Justice of Australia (Sir Owen Dixon), a future Governor of Tasmania (James Plimsoll), three former federal leaders of the opposition (Andrew Peacock, Kim Beazley and Rudd), and a former Treasurer of Australia (Joe Hockey).^[7]

Office-holders

Commissioner/Commissioner-General

Ordinal	Name	Image	Office	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	Sir Henry Braddon		Commissioner	19 September 1918 (1918-09-19)	31 July 1919 (1919-07-31)	315 days
2	Mark Sheldon			31 July 1919 (1919-07-31)	11 September 1924 (1924-09-11)	5 years, 42 days
3	Sir James Elder			11 September 1924 (1924-09-11)	17 May 1926 (1926-05-17)	1 year, 248 days	[8]
4	Sir Hugh Denison		Commissioner-General	17 May 1926 (1926-05-17)	10 February 1928 (1928-02-10)	1 year, 269 days	[9]
5	Herbert Brookes			10 February 1928 (1928-02-10)	23 January 1931 (1931-01-23)	2 years, 347 days

Counsellor/Charge d'Affaires

Ordinal	Name	Image	Office	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
–	Keith Officer		Australian Counsellor, British Embassy	February 1937 (1937-02)	February 1940 (1940-02)	3 years, 29 days
			Charge d'Affaires, Australian Legation	February 1940 (1940-02)	1 March 1940 (1940-03-01)

Minister/Ambassador

Ordinal	Name	Image	Office	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	Richard Casey		Minister	1 March 1940 (1940-03-01)	1 June 1942 (1942-06-01)	2 years, 92 days	[10]
2	Sir Owen Dixon			3 June 1942 (1942-06-03)	1 October 1944 (1944-10-01)	2 years, 120 days	[11]
3	Sir Frederic Eggleston			1 November 1944 (1944-11-01)	19 July 1946 (1946-07-19)	1 year, 308 days	[12]
			Ambassador	19 July 1946 (1946-07-19)	5 September 1946 (1946-09-05)
4	Norman Makin			5 September 1946 (1946-09-05)	1 January 1951 (1951-01-01)	4 years, 118 days	[13]
5	Sir Percy Spender			31 May 1951 (1951-05-31)	1 January 1957 (1957-01-01)	5 years, 215 days	[14]
6	Sir Howard Beale			20 March 1958 (1958-03-20)	1 April 1964 (1964-04-01)	6 years, 12 days	[15]
7	Sir Keith Waller			20 April 1964 (1964-04-20)	1 June 1970 (1970-06-01)	6 years, 42 days	[16]
8	Sir James Plimsoll			8 June 1970 (1970-06-08)	1 January 1973 (1973-01-01)	2 years, 207 days	[17]
9	Sir Patrick Shaw			21 February 1974 (1974-02-21)	27 December 1975 (1975-12-27)	1 year, 309 days	[18]
–	Gordon Noel Upton		Chargé d'affaires	27 December 1975 (1975-12-27)	8 March 1976 (1976-03-08)	72 days
10	Nick Parkinson		Ambassador	8 January 1976 (1976-01-08)	1 February 1976 (1976-02-01)	24 days	[19]
11	Alan Renouf			9 February 1976 (1976-02-09)	20 May 1979 (1979-05-20)	3 years, 100 days	[20]
–	Robert B. Birch		Chargé d'affaires	20 May 1979 (1979-05-20)	13 November 1979 (1979-11-13)	177 days
10	Sir Nick Parkinson		Ambassador	13 November 1979 (1979-11-13)	15 July 1982 (1982-07-15)	2 years, 244 days	[19]
–	Geoffrey J. Price		Chargé d'affaires	15 July 1982 (1982-07-15)	16 August 1982 (1982-08-16)	32 days	[21]
12	Sir Bob Cotton		Ambassador	16 August 1982 (1982-08-16)	1 June 1985 (1985-06-01)	2 years, 289 days	[22]
13	Rawdon Dalrymple			26 June 1985 (1985-06-26)	1 April 1989 (1989-04-01)	3 years, 279 days	[23]
14	Michael Cook			20 April 1989 (1989-04-20)	1 August 1993 (1993-08-01)	4 years, 103 days	[24]
15	Dr Don Russell			22 August 1993 (1993-08-22)	1 December 1995 (1995-12-01)	2 years, 101 days	[25]
16	John McCarthy			5 December 1995 (1995-12-05)	1 February 1997 (1997-02-01)	1 year, 58 days
17	Andrew Peacock			2 February 1997 (1997-02-02)	27 February 1999 (1999-02-27)	2 years, 25 days
18	Michael Thawley			2 February 2000 (2000-02-02)	1 June 2005 (2005-06-01)	5 years, 119 days	[26]
19	Dennis Richardson			20 June 2005 (2005-06-20)	1 February 2010 (2010-02-01)	4 years, 226 days	[27]
20	Kim Beazley			17 February 2010 (2010-02-17)	22 January 2016 (2016-01-22)	5 years, 339 days	[28][29]
21	Joe Hockey			29 January 2016 (2016-01-29)	30 January 2020 (2020-01-30)	4 years, 1 day	[30]
22	Arthur Sinodinos			7 February 2020 (2020-02-07)	20 March 2023 (2023-03-20)	3 years, 41 days	[31]
23	Kevin Rudd			20 March 2023 (2023-03-20)	Incumbent	2 years, 30 days	[32]

Consulates

Location	Opened	Consul	Consular district
Consulate-General, Chicago	1971	David Bushby	Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Consulate-General, Honolulu	1973	Andrea Gleason	Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, USPACOM[33]
Consulate-General, Houston (Austrade)	1982	Benson Saulo	Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana
Consulate-General, New York	1945	Nick Greiner	New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands.
Consulate-General, Los Angeles	1971	Jane Duke	California (south of the 36N latitude), Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada (Clark County), Utah
Consulate-General, San Francisco (Austrade)	1946	Nick Nichles	California (north of 36N latitude), Nevada (except Clark County), Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming
Honorary Consulate, Miami	1999	Don Slesnick	Florida[34][35]
Honorary Consulate, Denver	1994	James Waddell	Colorado[36]

From 1993 to August 2012, there existed a Consulate-General in Atlanta, Georgia, which was managed by Austrade. The consulate's closure was due to a realignment of resources "to growing and emerging markets like Mongolia and Colombia." After its closure, the consulate's reporting responsibilities for the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina were transferred to the Australian Embassy in Washington.^[37] From 12 September 1994 to his death on 11 June 2017, there existed an Honorary Consulate in Denver, Colorado, held by Mark O'Regan, an Australian-born Denver realtor and former civil servant in the Territory of Papua New Guinea.^[38] From 7 December 1999 to his death on 6 November 2013, the Honorary Consul in Miami, Florida, was Thomas Flynn.^[39] Flynn was appointed as an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service as honorary consul in 2005.^[40] From 2002 to approximately 2006, Len Reid was the Australian Honorary Consul in Seattle.^[41] Reid is now Honorary Consul Emeritus.^[42]

Consuls-General

Atlanta

The consulate-general was opened in 1993 under Austrade management.^[43] The consulate was closed in August 2012 following an Austrade restructure.

Name	Start of term	End of term	References
Ian Wing	14 September 1993	May 1997	[44]
Geoff Gray	14 August 1997	2000
David Crook	2000	22 November 2004	[45][46]
Amanda Hodges	7 January 2005	June 2009
Duncan Cole	June 2009	31 August 2012	[47]

Chicago

Originally opened in 1971, the consulate-general was closed in 1993 due to budget constraints after being transferred to Austrade, but re-opened under DFAT in 2001.^[48]

Name	Start of term	End of term	References
T. W. Collis	1971	1974
F. B. Hall	1975	1978
D. C. Goss	1979	1980
B. B. Hickey	1981	1985
Terry McCarthy	1986	1987
Jeremy Hearder	1988	1990	[49]
Kevin Gates	1991	6 August 1993
Consulate closed
Ron Harvey	2001	2004	[50]
Bob Charles	2005	2008	[51][52]
Elizabeth Schick	April 2008	April 2011
Roger Price	November 2011	31 March 2015	[53]
Michael Wood	1 April 2015	18 January 2019	[54]
David Bushby	18 January 2019	date	[55]

Honolulu

Originally opened as a Consulate in January 1973, the posting was upgraded to a Consulate-General on 26 March 1978.^[56][57]

Name	Start of term	End of term	References
David Wadham (Consul)	January 1973	June 1975	[58]
William Rowe (Consul)	June 1975	26 March 1978	[59]
William Rowe MBE	26 March 1978	June 1979	[60]
Brian Meade	June 1979	February 1983
Bill Fisher	February 1983	April 1987
Richard Smith	April 1987	August 1989	[61]
Robert Tyson	August 1989	January 1993
Murray Cobban	January 1993	October 1995
Colin McDonald	October 1995	May 1998	[62]
Peter Woolcott	May 1998	July 2001	[63]
Paul Robilliard	July 2001	September 2004	[64]
John Quinn	September 2004	August 2007	[65]
David Binns	August 2007	August 2011	[66]
Scott Dewar	August 2011	February 2015	[67]
Jeff Robinson	8 February 2015	22 December 2017
Jane Hardy	22 December 2017	25 June 2021	[68]
Andrea Gleason	25 June 2021	date	[69]

Los Angeles

Originally a Trade Commission from 1965, the post was upgraded to a Consulate-General from 3 March 1971 and was closed during a period of budget cuts to Foreign Affairs on 1 July 1976. The consulate reopened in September 1978 and management was transferred from DFAT to Austrade in October 1992. DFAT resumed management from November 1999.^[70]

Name	Start of term	End of term	References
A. I. Macrae (Trade Commissioner)	1964	1966	[71]
M. J. Long (Trade Commissioner)	1967	3 March 1971
Philip Searcy OBE	3 March 1971	September 1975
Harold Marshall	September 1975	1 July 1976
Consulate closed
Peter Barbour	September 1978	April 1981
John McLeay Jr.	April 1981	February 1984
Basil Teasey	February 1984	June 1988
John Kelso	June 1988	October 1992
Colin Hook	October 1992	May 1995
Robert O'Donovan	June 1995	1997
Michael Johnson	1997	November 1999
Allan Rocher	November 1999	November 2002	[72]
John Olsen	November 2002	September 2006	[73]
Innes Willox	September 2006	March 2009	[74]
Chris De Cure OAM	March 2009	July 2012	[75]
Karen Lanyon	July 2012	October 2015	[76]
Chelsey Martin	22 October 2015	2020	[77][78]
Jane Duke	4 September 2020	date	[78][79]

San Francisco

Since 1993, the consulate-general has been managed by Austrade.^[43]

Name	Start of term	End of term	References
Edward Smart	July 1946	October 1949	[80]
N. N. Frewin (acting)	October 1949	1952	[81]
Stewart Wolfe Jamieson	June 1952	1955
Melville Marshall	May 1955	1960
Bill Cutts	December 1960	1963
Frederick Homer	February 1963	1966
Neil Truscott	February 1966	1970	[82]
Roger Dean	April 1970	1974
John McCredie	August 1974	1977
Geoffrey Brady	August 1977	1982
Leslie Sellars	November 1982	1983
John Melhuish	May 1983	1986	[83]
David Rutter	October 1986	1990
David Charles	August 1990	September 1993	[84]
John Paul McCaffrey	29 September 1993	May 1995
Dr Joe Hlubucek	25 May 1995	1998
Peter Lewis AM [85]	July 1998	October 2002
Peter Frank	16 October 2002	2005
David Lawson	2005	June 2009
Nigel Warren	June 2009	June 2015
Sally-Ann Watts	June 2015	October 2015
Chris Oldfield	October 2015	March 2019	[86][87]
Nick Nichles	March 2019	date	[88]

See also

• Australia–United States relations
• Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.
• List of Consuls-General of Australia in New York
• Embassy of the United States, Canberra
• List of ambassadors of the United States to Australia