Australian High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago

The Australian high commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.^[1] The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and the high commissioner resides in Port of Spain. The high commissioner, since March 2023, has been Sonya Koppe.

Australian High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago
Incumbent Sonya Koppe since 16 March 2023 (2023-03-16)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style	Her Excellency
Reports to	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Seat	Port of Spain
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	James Ingram (Non-resident High Commissioner, located in Ottawa)
Website

Posting history

The Australian government established a High Commission in Port of Spain in May 2004 and appointed its first resident High Commissioner, John Michell. Previously, responsibility for Australian diplomatic representation in Trinidad and Tobago was held in Canada (1974); Jamaica (1975–1994); and Barbados (1994–2004). The decision to move Australian Government representation from Barbados to Trinidad and Tobago was part of a review of Australia's diplomatic network completed in July 2003.^[2]

List of high commissioners

#	Officeholder	Residency	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	James Ingram	Ottawa, Canada	1974	1974	0 years	[3]
2	John Hoyle	Kingston, Jamaica	1975	1977	1–2 years
3	Brian Hickey		1978	1979	0–1 years
4	Gordon Bilney		1980	1981	0–1 years	[4]
5	R. E. Little		1982	1984	1–2 years
6	Michael Landale		1985	1987	1–2 years
7	Ian Wille		1988	1989	0–1 years	[5]
8	Peter Rogers		1990	1994	3–4 years
9	Bob Whitty	Bridgetown, Barbados	1994	1998	3–4 years	[6]
10	Paul Smith		1998	2001	2–3 years	[7]
11	Winfred Peppinck		2001	2004	2–3 years	[8]
12	John Michell	Port of Spain	2004	2007	2–3 years	[9]
13	Philip Kentwell		2007	2013	5–6 years	[10]
14	Ross Tysoe		2013	2016	2–3 years	[11]
15	John Pilbeam		2016	2019	2–3 years	[12]
16	Bruce Lendon		2019	2023	4 years	[13][14]
17	Sonya Koppe		March 16, 2023 (2023-03-16)	incumbent	564 days

References

1. CA 9395:Australian High Commission, Trinidad and Tobago [Port of Spain], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 12 January 2016
2. Downer, Alexander (18 July 2003). "Australia's Overseas Diplomatic Network Enhanced" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
3. "Australia names two new envoys". The Canberra Times. ACT. 8 January 1974. p. 6 – via Trove, National Library of Australia.
4. "Minister announces Jamaica posting". The Canberra Times. ACT. 19 December 1979. p. 17.
5. "Hayden announces envoy for Jamaica". The Canberra Times. ACT. 6 October 1987. p. 3.
6. "Whitty given job in the West Indies". The Canberra Times. ACT. 3 November 1993. p. 4.
7. Downer, Alexander (10 February 1998). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to Barbados" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
8. Downer, Alexander (22 January 2001). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to Barbados" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
9. Downer, Alexander (10 April 2004). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015.
10. Downer, Alexander (5 June 2007). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015.
11. Carr, Bob (13 November 2012). "High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
12. Bishop, Julie (4 December 2015). "High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015.
13. Payne, Marise (19 July 2019). "High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago". Minister for Foreign Affairs (Press release). Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
14. "PRESENTATION OF CREDENTIALS: HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA". The Office of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2022.

External links

• Australian High Commission, Port of Spain