List of high commissioners of Australia to Tuvalu

The High Commissioner of Australia to Tuvalu 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 Tuvalu. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and the High Commissioner resides in Funafuti. The High Commissioner since August 2023 is Brenton Garlick. There has been a resident Australian High Commissioner in Tuvalu since October 2018, and the Australian High Commission is one of only two resident diplomatic missions in Tuvalu, the other being the Embassy of Taiwan

High Commissioner of Australia to Tuvalu
Incumbent David Charlton since 23 October 2024 (2024-10-23)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style	His Excellency
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Residence	Tuvalu Road, Vaiaku
Seat	Funafuti
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	Gordon Upton (Non-resident)
Formation	30 November 1977
Website	Australian High Commission, Funafuti

Posting history

Prior to the independence of Tuvalu on 1 October 1978, the High Commission in Suva was accredited to Tuvalu, with the High Commissioner (1977–2014) and Deputy High Commissioner (2014–2018) serving as the non-resident accredited High Commissioner to Tuvalu. In the 2018 Australian Federal budget, funding was allocated to establish a High Commission in Tuvalu, becoming one of only two diplomatic missions in Tuvalu (the other being the Embassy of Taiwan).^[1] A resident High Commissioner to Tuvalu was appointed in 2018, and the High Commission was officially opened in 2019.^[2][3][4]

Heads of mission

#	Officeholder	Residency	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	Gordon Upton	Suva, Fiji	30 November 1977 (1977-11-30)	December 1979 (1979-12)	1–2 years	[5][6][7][8]
2	Raymond Greet		February 1980 (1980-02)	May 1982 (1982-05)	2 years, 3 months	[9][10][11][12]
3	Colin McDonald		May 1982 (1982-05)	June 1984 (1984-06)	2 years, 1 month	[13][14][15][16]
4	Jeremy Hearder		June 1984 (1984-06)	June 1986 (1986-06)	2 years	[17][18][19]
5	John Piper		June 1986 (1986-06)	16 October 1987 (1987-10-16)	1 year, 4 months	[20][21][22][23][24]
6	Bob Cotton	Suva, Fiji	30 March 1988 (1988-03-30)	August 1991 (1991-08)	3 years, 4 months	[25][26][27]
7	John Trotter		August 1991 (1991-08)	April 1995 (1995-04)	3 years, 8 months	[28]
8	Greg Urwin		April 1995 (1995-04)	July 1999 (1999-07)	4 years, 3 months	[29][30]
9	Susan Boyd		July 1999 (1999-07)	July 2003 (2003-07)	4 years	[31]
10	Jennifer Rawson		July 2003 (2003-07)	January 2007 (2007-01)	3 years, 6 months	[32]
11	James Batley		January 2007 (2007-01)	3 November 2009 (2009-11-03)	2 years, 10 months	[33][34][35]
−	Glenn Miles (Acting)		3 November 2009 (2009-11-03)	2 December 2014 (2014-12-02)	5 years, 29 days	[36]
12	Karinda D’Aloisio		2 December 2014 (2014-12-02)	June 2016 (2016-06)	1 year, 5 months	[37]
13	Amy Crago		June 2016 (2016-06)	26 October 2018 (2018-10-26)	2 years, 4 months	[38]
14	Karyn Murray	Funafuti	26 October 2018 (2018-10-26)	6 October 2021 (2021-10-06)	2 years, 345 days	[38]
15	Robin McKenzie		6 October 2021 (2021-10-06)	1 June 2023 (2023-06-01)	3 years, 137 days	[39]
16	Brenton Garlick	Funafuti	4 September 2023 (2023-09-04)	23 October 2024 (2024-10-23)	1 year, 169 days	[40]
17	David Charlton		23 October 2024 (2024-10-23)	Incumbent	120 days	[41]

See also

• Australia–Tuvalu relations
• Foreign relations of Tuvalu
• Foreign relations of Australia

References

1. Murray, Lisa (9 May 2018). "Federal budget 2018: Australia sets up a diplomatic post in Tuvalu". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
2. Payne, Marise (26 October 2018). "High Commissioner to Tuvalu" (Press release). Australian Government.
3. Payne, Marise (7 February 2019). "Opening of Australian High Commission in Tuvalu" (Press release). Australian Government.
4. "Australian High Commission -Tuvalu". Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
5. "High Commissioner to Fiji and Tonga". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 47 (5). Department of Foreign Affairs: 275. May 1976. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
6. "Appointment". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 May 1976. p. 3. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
7. Keith-Reid, Robert (October 1976). "Australia's man and 'those Reds'". Pacific Islands Monthly. 47 (10): 45–47. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
8. "Australian Representation Overseas". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 48 (11). Department of Foreign Affairs: 600. November 1977. Retrieved 27 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia (Trove).
9. "Diplomatic appointments". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 50 (10). Department of Foreign Affairs: 591–592. October 1979. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
10. "Diplomatic postings". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 November 1979. p. 11. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Representation - Australian Representation Overseas". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 51 (3). Department of Foreign Affairs: 80. March 1980. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
12. "Representation - Australian Representation Overseas". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 51 (4). Department of Foreign Affairs: 127. April 1980. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
13. "Diplomatic appointment: Fiji and Tuvalu". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 53 (2). Department of Foreign Affairs: 87–88. February 1982. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
14. "High Commissioners' postings". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 February 1982. p. 7. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
15. "'Pacificism' popular in Foreign Affairs". The Bulletin. 102 (5313): 132. 11 May 1982. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
16. "Representation - Australian Representation Overseas". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 53 (5). Department of Foreign Affairs: 344. May 1982. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
17. "High Commissioner to Fiji". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 55 (4). Department of Foreign Affairs: 422–423. April 1984. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
18. "Representation - Australian Representation Overseas". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 55 (7). Department of Foreign Affairs: 768. July 1984. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
19. "People". Pacific Islands Monthly. 55 (7): 65. 1 July 1984. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
20. "High Commissioner to Fiji and Tuvalu". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 57 (6). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 554. June 1986. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
21. "Representation - Australian Representation Overseas". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 57 (7). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 640. July 1986. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
22. "High Commissioner". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 June 1986. p. 3. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
23. "Australian move Top envoy to Fiji recalled". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 October 1987. p. 1. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
24. "Fiji: recall of Australian High Commissioner". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 58 (9). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 559. September–October 1987. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
25. "Career diplomat tipped to be ambassador to Fiji". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 February 1988. p. 3. Retrieved 7 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
26. "Ambassador to Fiji". Australian Foreign Affairs Record. 59 (3). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 114. March 1988. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
27. "Pacific Report - Australia's Fiji Promise". Pacific Islands Monthly. 59 (6): 33. 1 June 1988. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
28. Evans, Gareth (25 March 1991). "Diplomatic appointment - Fiji" (Media Release). ParlInfo: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australian Government. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
29. Evans, Gareth (10 March 1995). "Diplomatic appointment: Fiji and Tuvalu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
30. "Fiji Rejoins the Commonwealth" (Press Release). Commonwealth Secretariat. 30 September 1997. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
31. Downer, Alexander (8 June 1999). "Diplomatic appointment: High Commissioner to Fiji" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
32. Downer, Alexander (29 May 2003). "Diplomatic appointment: High Commissioner to Fiji" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
33. Downer, Alexander (9 January 2007). "Diplomatic appointment – High Commissioner to Fiji" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 11 February 2014.
34. Hayward-Jones, Jenny (4 November 2009). "Another diplomatic spat with Fiji". Lowy Interpreter. Lowy Institute for International Policy.
35. Merritt, Chris (4 November 2009). "Fiji expels high commissioner". The Australian. News Ltd. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
36. "Miles moves on". The Fiji Times. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
37. "New High Commissioner to #Tuvalu Karinda D'Aloisio presented credentials to PM Enele Sopoaga this month". Twitter. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
38. Payne, Marise (26 October 2018). "High Commissioner to Tuvalu" (Press release). Australian Government.
39. Payne, Marise (6 October 2021). "High Commissioner to Tuvalu" (Press release). Australian Government.
40. Wong, Penny (11 July 2023). "High Commissioner to Tuvalu" (Press release). Australian Government.
41. Wong, Penny (23 October 2024). "High Commissioner to Tuvalu" (Press release). Australian Government.

External links

• Australian High Commission, Funafuti