# List of ambassadors of Australia to Egypt

The Ambassador of Australia to Egypt is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Embassy of the Commonwealth of Australia to the Arab Republic of Egypt. The current ambassador, since November 2018, is Glenn Miles, who resides in Cairo. The Ambassador also holds non-resident accreditation as Ambassador to Eritrea, Syria and Sudan.

## History

The first official Australian representative in Egypt was Cyril E. Hughes, who was appointed as trade commissioner in Cairo by the Lyons government in 1936 as part of its expansion of the trade commissioner scheme. He was also given responsibility for Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, the Sudan, Syria and Turkey. Hughes performed a quasi-diplomatic role, sending briefings to the Department of External Affairs on Middle Eastern politics. His successor James Payne remained in the post throughout World War II.
Australia opened its first embassy in the Arab world in Cairo, in 1950. There existed an embassy in Damascus, Syria from 1977 to 1999. Prior to 1977, accreditation for Syria was held by the embassies in Beirut, Lebanon (1973–1976) and Baghdad, Iraq (1976–1977). In 1991, with its independence, accreditation for Eritrea was held by the High Commission in Nairobi, until it was transferred to the embassy in Cairo in 2006.
After the Australian Government closed its post in Syrian embassy in 1999, the Ambassador to Egypt was named responsible for representing Australian interests in Syria.

## List of heads of mission

| Ordinal | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Claude Massey | Minister to Egypt | 1950 (1950) | 1953 (1953) | 2–3 years |
| 2 | Hugh McClure Smith | Minister to Egypt | 1953 (1953) | 1953 (1953) | 1–2 years |
| 3 | Roden Cutler VC, CBE | Minister to Egypt | 1955 (1955) | 1957 (1957) | 1–2 years |
| Post withdrawn 9 September 1956 ||||||||
| 4 | John Quinn OBE | Minister to Cairo | November 1960 (1960-11) | April 1961 (1961-04) | 1 year |
| 4 | John Quinn OBE | Ambassador to the United Arab Republic | April 1961 (1961-04) | November 1961 (1961-11) | 1 year |
| 5 | Francis Hamilton Stuart | Ambassador to the United Arab Republic | November 1961 (1961-11) | March 1966 (1966-03) | 4 years, 4 months |
| 6 | L. J. Lawrey | Ambassador to the United Arab Republic | March 1966 (1966-03) | January 1969 (1969-01) | 2 years, 10 months |
| 7 | Brian Clarence Hill | Ambassador to the United Arab Republic | January 1969 (1969-01) | 1971 (1971) | 2–3 years |
| 7 | Brian Clarence Hill | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1971 (1971) | 1972 (1972) | 2–3 years |
| 8 | Keith Douglas Scott | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | June 1972 (1972-06) | January 1975 (1975-01) | 2 years, 7 months |
| 9 | Robin Ashwin | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1975 (1975) | 1978 (1978) | 2–3 years |
| 10 | Pierre Hutton | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1978 (1978) | 1981 (1981) | 2–3 years |
| 11 | Frank Murray | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1981 (1981) | 1984 (1984) | 2–3 years |
| 12 | Kenneth Rodgers | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1984 (1984) | 1987 (1987) | 2–3 years |
| 13 | Ian Hutcheons | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1987 (1987) | 1990 (1990) | 2–3 years |
| 14 | John Crighton | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1990 (1990) | 1993 (1993) | 2–3 years |
| 15 | Colin McDonald | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1993 (1993) | 1998 (1998) | 4–5 years |
| 16 | Michael Smith | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1995 (1995) | 1998 (1998) | 2–3 years |
| 17 | Victoria Owen PSM | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 1998 (1998) | 2002 (2002) | 3–4 years |
| 18 | Robert Newton | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 2002 (2002) | 2005 (2005) | 2–3 years |
| 19 | Bob Bowker | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 2005 (2005) | 2008 (2008) | 2–3 years |
| 20 | Stephanie Shwabsky | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 2008 (2008) | 2012 (2012) | 3–4 years |
| 21 | Ralph King | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 2012 (2012) | 2015 (2015) | 2–3 years |
| 22 | Neil Hawkins | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | 2015 (2015) | 2018 (2018) | 2–3 years |
| 23 | Glenn Miles | Ambassador of Australia to Egypt | November 2018 (2018-11) | incumbent | 5 years, 10 months |