# List of Australian special interests ambassadors and envoys

Australian special interests ambassadors and envoys are specially-appointed officers of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to represent the interests of the Commonwealth of Australia abroad on a larger scale (such as by continent) or through representing the Commonwealth's approach to various international issues. While the special interest Ambassadors-at-Large are appointed in the same manner as would a normal Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, they are not credentialed to any state and thus have no treaty-making powers. Special Envoys are typically appointed by the prime minister of Australia.

## Special interests ambassadors
### Ambassadors for Counter-Terrorism

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Nick Warner | 20 March 2003 (2003-03-20) | 14 August 2003 (2003-08-14) | 147 days |
| 2 | Les Luck | 14 August 2003 (2003-08-14) | 20 July 2006 (2006-07-20) | 2 years, 340 days |
| 3 | Mike Smith | 20 July 2006 (2006-07-20) | 5 September 2008 (2008-09-05) | 2 years, 47 days |
| 4 | Bill Paterson | 5 September 2008 (2008-09-05) | 14 March 2013 (2013-03-14) | 4 years, 190 days |
| 5 | Bill Fisher | 14 March 2013 (2013-03-14) | 18 May 2014 (2014-05-18) | 1 year, 65 days |
| 6 | Miles Armitage | 18 May 2014 (2014-05-18) | 21 July 2016 (2016-07-21) | 2 years, 64 days |
| 7 | Paul Foley | 21 July 2016 (2016-07-21) | 18 February 2021 (2021-02-18) | 4 years, 212 days |
| 8 | Roger Noble | 18 February 2021 (2021-02-18) | 9 February 2023 (2023-02-09) | 1 year, 356 days |
| 9 | Richard Feakes | 22 May 2023 (2023-05-22) | Incumbent | 1 year, 284 days |

### Ambassadors for the Environment

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Sir Ninian Stephen | 1989 (1989) | 1992 (1992) | 2–3 years |
| 2 | Penelope Wensley | 1992 (1992) | January 1996 (1996-01) | 3–4 years |
| 3 | Howard Bamsey | January 1996 (1996-01) | September 1997 (1997-09) | 1 year, 8 months |
| 4 | Meg McDonald | September 1997 (1997-09) | November 1998 (1998-11) | 1 year, 2 months |
| 5 | Ralph Hillman | November 1998 (1998-11) | March 2002 (2002-03) | 3 years, 4 months |
| 6 | Christopher Langman | March 2002 (2002-03) | February 2004 (2004-02) | 1 year, 11 months |
| 7 | Justin Brown | October 2004 (2004-10) | January 2005 (2005-01) | 3 months |
| 8 | 01 Adams | January 2005 (2005-01) | 2007 (2007) | 1–2 years |
| Role merged with the Ambassador for Climate Change ||||||
| 9 | Peter Woolcott | November 2014 (2014-11) | 29 February 2016 (2016-02-29) | 1 year, 3 months |
| 10 | Patrick Suckling | 29 February 2016 (2016-02-29) | 18 November 2019 (2019-11-18) | 3 years, 263 days |
| 11 | Jamie Isbister | 18 November 2019 (2019-11-18) | Incumbent | 5 years, 104 days |

### Ambassadors for Climate Change

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | 01 Adams | 2007 (2007) | February 2009 (2009-02) | 1–2 years |
| 2 | Louise Hand | February 2009 (2009-02) | 13 May 2012 (2012-05-13) | 3 years, 3 months |
| 3 | Justin Lee | 13 May 2012 (2012-05-13) | 1 November 2014 (2014-11-01) | 2 years, 172 days |
| Role merged with the Ambassador for the Environment ||||||
| 4 | Kristin Tilley | 9 November 2022 (2022-11-09) | Incumbent | 2 years, 113 days |

### Ambassadors for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology

| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes |
| 1 | Tobias Feakin | Ambassador for Cyber Affairs | 10 November 2016 (2016-11-10) | January 2020 (2020-01) | 8 years, 112 days | |
| 1 | Tobias Feakin | Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology | January 2020 (2020-01) | Incumbent | 8 years, 112 days | |

### Ambassadors for Regional Health Security

| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Murray Proctor | Ambassador for HIV/AIDS | December 2007 (2007-12) | May 2012 (2012-05) | 4 years, 5 months |
| 2 | James Gilling | Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria | 3 October 2012 (2012-10-03) | 13 June 2017 (2017-06-13) | 4 years, 253 days |
| 3 | Blair Exell | Ambassador for Regional Health Security | 13 June 2017 (2017-06-13) | 3 March 2020 (2020-03-03) | 2 years, 264 days |
| 4 | Stephanie Williams | Ambassador for Regional Health Security | 3 March 2020 (2020-03-03) | Incumbent | 4 years, 364 days |

### Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking

| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | John Buckley | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | April 2002 (2002-04) | 30 July 2003 (2003-07-30) | 1 year, 3 months |
| 2 | Caroline Millar | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | 30 July 2003 (2003-07-30) | 19 December 2005 (2005-12-19) | 2 years, 142 days |
| 3 | Lydia Morton | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | 19 December 2005 (2005-12-19) | January 2007 (2007-01) | 1 year |
| 4 | Michael Potts | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | January 2007 (2007-01) | June 2009 (2009-06) | 2 years, 5 months |
| 5 | Peter Woolcott | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | June 2009 (2009-06) | February 2010 (2010-02) | 8 months |
| 6 | James Larsen | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | February 2010 (2010-02) | 27 May 2012 (2012-05-27) | 2 years, 3 months |
| 7 | Craig Chittick | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | 27 May 2012 (2012-05-27) | December 2014 (2014-12) | 2 years, 188 days |
| 8 | Andrew Goledzinowski | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | December 2014 (2014-12) | 19 October 2017 (2017-10-19) | 2 years, 10 months |
| 9 | Geoffrey Shaw | Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking | 19 October 2017 (2017-10-19) | 22 May 2020 (2020-05-22) | 2 years, 216 days |
| 10 | Lucienne Manton | Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking | 22 May 2020 (2020-05-22) | Incumbent | 4 years, 284 days |

### Ambassadors for Gender Equality

| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Penny Williams | Ambassador for Women and Girls | 13 September 2011 (2011-09-13) | 16 December 2013 (2013-12-16) | 2 years, 94 days |
| 2 | Natasha Stott Despoja | Ambassador for Women and Girls | 16 December 2013 (2013-12-16) | 21 November 2016 (2016-11-21) | 2 years, 341 days |
| 3 | Sharman Stone | Ambassador for Women and Girls | 21 November 2016 (2016-11-21) | 8 March 2020 (2020-03-08) | 3 years, 108 days |
| 4 | Julie-Ann Guivarra | Ambassador for Gender Equality | 8 March 2020 (2020-03-08) | 1 October 2021 (2021-10-01) | 1 year, 207 days |
| 5 | Christine Clarke | Ambassador for Women and Girls | 31 January 2022 (2022-01-31) | 20 December 2022 (2022-12-20) | 323 days |
| 6 | Stephanie Copus-Campbell | Ambassador for Gender Equality | 20 December 2022 (2022-12-20) | Incumbent | 2 years, 72 days |

### Ambassadors for Human Rights

| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Phillip Ruddock | Special Envoy for Human Rights | 8 February 2016 (2016-02-08) | October 2017 (2017-10) | 1 year, 7 months |
| Post abolished |||||||
| 2 | Bronte Moules | Ambassador for Human Rights | TBD | Incoming | |

## Special Envoys
### Parliamentarians
#### Special Envoy for the Arts

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Susan Templeman MP | | Labor | 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01) | Incumbent | 2 years, 274 days | |

#### Special Envoy for Citizenship and Community Engagement

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Philip Ruddock MP | | Liberal | 28 May 2015 (2015-05-28) | 9 May 2016 (2016-05-09) | 347 days | |

#### Special Envoy for Cyber Security and Digital Resilience

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Andrew Charlton MP | | Labor | 29 July 2024 (2024-07-29) | Incumbent | 216 days | |

#### Special Envoy for Defence and Veterans' Affairs

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Luke Gosling MP | | Labor | Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans' Affairs and Northern Australia | 29 July 2024 (2024-07-29) | Incumbent | 216 days | |

#### Special Envoy for Disaster Recovery

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Senator Tony Sheldon | | Labor | 24 July 2022 (2022-07-24) | Incumbent | 2 years, 221 days | |

#### Special Envoy for Drought Assistance and Recovery

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Barnaby Joyce MP | | National | 11 September 2018 (2018-09-11) | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) | 260 days | |

#### Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Warren Entsch MP | | Liberal National | 29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) | 11 April 2022 (2022-04-11) | 2 years, 317 days | |
| 2 | Senator Nita Green | | Labor | 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01) | Incumbent | 2 years, 274 days | |
* ↑ Entsch sat in the Liberal party room.

#### Special Envoy for Indigenous Affairs

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Tony Abbott MP | | Liberal | Special Envoy for Indigenous Affairs | 29 August 2018 (2018-08-29) | 18 May 2019 (2019-05-18) | 262 days | |
| 2 | Senator Pat Dodson | | Labor | Special Envoy for Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart | 1 June 2022 (2022-06-01) | 26 January 2024 (2024-01-26) | 1 year, 239 days | |

#### Special Envoy for Northern Australia

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Senator Susan McDonald | | Liberal National | Special Envoy for Northern Australia | 27 June 2021 (2021-06-27) | 23 May 2022 (2022-05-23) | 330 days | |
| 2 | Luke Gosling MP | | Labor | Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans' Affairs and Northern Australia | 29 July 2024 (2024-07-29) | Incumbent | 216 days | |
* ↑ McDonald sat in the National party room.

#### Special Envoy for Social Cohesion

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Peter Khalil MP | | Labor | 29 July 2024 (2024-07-29) | Incumbent | 216 days | |

#### Special Envoy for Trade

| # | Officeholder | Party | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Andrew Robb MP | | Liberal | 18 February 2016 (2016-02-18) | 9 May 2016 (2016-05-09) | 81 days | |

### Others
#### Diplomatic
##### Special Envoy to Africa

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Malcolm Fraser | 1996 (1996) | 1999 (1999) | 2–3 years |
| 2 | Bob McMullan | 2010 (2010) | 2012 (2012) | 1–2 years |
| 3 | Joanna Hewitt | 2012 (2012) | 2012 (2012) | Un­known |

##### Special Envoy to Bhutan

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Tim Fischer | c. 2011 (2011) | Un­known | Un­known | |

##### Special Envoy to Central Asia

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Peter Tesch | 2010 (2010) | 2012 (2012) | 1–2 years | |

##### Special Envoy to Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Caucasus

| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Malcolm Fraser | Special Envoy to Yugoslavia | 19 April 1999 (1999-04-19) | 1999 (1999) | Un­known |
| 2 | Russell Trood | Special Envoy to Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Caucasus | 31 July 2011 (2011-07-31) | 2012 (2012) | 0–1 years |
| 3 | Angus Houston | Special Envoy to Ukraine | 21 July 2014 (2014-07-21) | 2014 (2014) | Un­known |

##### Special Envoy to Eritrea, Rwanda and South Sudan

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Tim Fischer | c. 2011 (2011) | Un­known | Un­known | |

##### Special Envoy to Francophone countries and La Francophonie

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Bill Fisher | 2010 (2010) | 2013 (2013) | 2–3 years | |

##### Special Envoy to Latin America and the Caribbean

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | John McCarthy | c. 2011 (2011) | 2012 (2012) | Un­known | |

##### Special Envoy to Lusophone countries

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Neil Mules | c. 2011 (2011) | 2012 (2012) | Un­known | |

##### Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Ahmed Fahour | 29 June 2011 (2011-06-29) | Un­known | Un­known | |

##### Special Envoy for the Pacific and Regional Affairs

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Ewen McDonald | 3 July 2023 (2023-07-03) | Incumbent | 1 year, 242 days | |

##### Special Envoy for Southeast Asia

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Nicholas Moore | 12 November 2022 (2022-11-12) | Incumbent | 2 years, 110 days | |

##### Special Envoy to Sri Lanka

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | John McCarthy | 2 November 2009 (2009-11-02) | Un­known | Un­known | |

#### Issues
##### Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Jillian Segal | 9 July 2024 (2024-07-09) | Incumbent | 236 days | |

##### Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Aftab Malik | 14 October 2024 (2024-10-14) | Incumbent | 139 days | |

##### Special Envoy for Operation Sovereign Borders

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Jim Molan | 27 September 2013 (2013-09-27) | 15 August 2014 (2014-08-15) | 322 days | |

##### Special Envoy on Whale Conservation

| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
| 1 | Sandy Hollway | 2008 (2008) | 2009 (2009) | 0–1 years | |