# 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. 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.

## 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. 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.
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).

## Office-holders
### Commissioner/Commissioner-General

| Ordinal | Name | Office | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Sir Henry Braddon | Commissioner | 19 September 1918 (1918-09-19) | 31 July 1919 (1919-07-31) | 315 days |
| 2 | Mark Sheldon | Commissioner | 31 July 1919 (1919-07-31) | 11 September 1924 (1924-09-11) | 5 years, 42 days |
| 3 | Sir James Elder | Commissioner | 11 September 1924 (1924-09-11) | 17 May 1926 (1926-05-17) | 1 year, 248 days |
| 4 | Sir Hugh Denison | Commissioner-General | 17 May 1926 (1926-05-17) | 10 February 1928 (1928-02-10) | 1 year, 269 days |
| 5 | Herbert Brookes | Commissioner-General | 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 | |
| – | Keith Officer | | Charge d'Affaires, Australian Legation | February 1940 (1940-02) | 1 March 1940 (1940-03-01) | 3 years, 29 days | |

### Minister/Ambassador

| Ordinal | Name | Office | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office |
| 1 | Richard Casey | Minister | 1 March 1940 (1940-03-01) | 1 June 1942 (1942-06-01) | 2 years, 92 days |
| 2 | Sir Owen Dixon | Minister | 3 June 1942 (1942-06-03) | 1 October 1944 (1944-10-01) | 2 years, 120 days |
| 3 | Sir Frederic Eggleston | Minister | 1 November 1944 (1944-11-01) | 19 July 1946 (1946-07-19) | 1 year, 308 days |
| 3 | Sir Frederic Eggleston | Ambassador | 19 July 1946 (1946-07-19) | 5 September 1946 (1946-09-05) | 1 year, 308 days |
| 4 | Norman Makin | Ambassador | 5 September 1946 (1946-09-05) | 1 January 1951 (1951-01-01) | 4 years, 118 days |
| 5 | Sir Percy Spender | Ambassador | 31 May 1951 (1951-05-31) | 1 January 1957 (1957-01-01) | 5 years, 215 days |
| 6 | Sir Howard Beale | Ambassador | 20 March 1958 (1958-03-20) | 1 April 1964 (1964-04-01) | 6 years, 12 days |
| 7 | Sir Keith Waller | Ambassador | 20 April 1964 (1964-04-20) | 1 June 1970 (1970-06-01) | 6 years, 42 days |
| 8 | Sir James Plimsoll | Ambassador | 8 June 1970 (1970-06-08) | 1 January 1973 (1973-01-01) | 2 years, 207 days |
| 9 | Sir Patrick Shaw | Ambassador | 21 February 1974 (1974-02-21) | 27 December 1975 (1975-12-27) | 1 year, 309 days |
| – | 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 |
| 11 | Alan Renouf | Ambassador | 9 February 1976 (1976-02-09) | 20 May 1979 (1979-05-20) | 3 years, 100 days |
| – | 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 |
| – | Geoffrey J. Price | Chargé d'affaires | 15 July 1982 (1982-07-15) | 16 August 1982 (1982-08-16) | 32 days |
| 12 | Sir Bob Cotton | Ambassador | 16 August 1982 (1982-08-16) | 1 June 1985 (1985-06-01) | 2 years, 289 days |
| 13 | Rawdon Dalrymple | Ambassador | 26 June 1985 (1985-06-26) | 1 April 1989 (1989-04-01) | 3 years, 279 days |
| 14 | Michael Cook | Ambassador | 20 April 1989 (1989-04-20) | 1 August 1993 (1993-08-01) | 4 years, 103 days |
| 15 | Dr Don Russell | Ambassador | 22 August 1993 (1993-08-22) | 1 December 1995 (1995-12-01) | 2 years, 101 days |
| 16 | John McCarthy | Ambassador | 5 December 1995 (1995-12-05) | 1 February 1997 (1997-02-01) | 1 year, 58 days |
| 17 | Andrew Peacock | Ambassador | 2 February 1997 (1997-02-02) | 27 February 1999 (1999-02-27) | 2 years, 25 days |
| 18 | Michael Thawley | Ambassador | 2 February 2000 (2000-02-02) | 1 June 2005 (2005-06-01) | 5 years, 119 days |
| 19 | Dennis Richardson | Ambassador | 20 June 2005 (2005-06-20) | 1 February 2010 (2010-02-01) | 4 years, 226 days |
| 20 | Kim Beazley | Ambassador | 17 February 2010 (2010-02-17) | 22 January 2016 (2016-01-22) | 5 years, 339 days |
| 21 | Joe Hockey | Ambassador | 29 January 2016 (2016-01-29) | 30 January 2020 (2020-01-30) | 4 years, 1 day |
| 22 | Arthur Sinodinos | Ambassador | 7 February 2020 (2020-02-07) | 20 March 2023 (2023-03-20) | 3 years, 41 days |
| 23 | Kevin Rudd | Ambassador | 20 March 2023 (2023-03-20) | Incumbent | 1 year, 202 days |

## 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 |
| 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 |
| Honorary Consulate, Denver | 1994 | James Waddell | Colorado |
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. 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. From 7 December 1999 to his death on 6 November 2013, the Honorary Consul in Miami, Florida, was Thomas Flynn. Flynn was appointed as an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service as honorary consul in 2005. From 2002 to approximately 2006, Len Reid was the Australian Honorary Consul in Seattle. Reid is now Honorary Consul Emeritus.

## Consuls-General
### Atlanta

The consulate-general was opened in 1993 under Austrade management. The consulate was closed in August 2012 following an Austrade restructure.
| Name | Start of term | End of term |
| Ian Wing | 14 September 1993 | May 1997 |
| Geoff Gray | 14 August 1997 | 2000 |
| David Crook | 2000 | 22 November 2004 |
| Amanda Hodges | 7 January 2005 | June 2009 |
| Duncan Cole | June 2009 | 31 August 2012 |

### 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.
| Name | Start of term | End of term |
| 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 |
| Kevin Gates | 1991 | 6 August 1993 |
| Consulate closed ||||
| Ron Harvey | 2001 | 2004 |
| Bob Charles | 2005 | 2008 |
| Elizabeth Schick | April 2008 | April 2011 |
| Roger Price | November 2011 | 31 March 2015 |
| Michael Wood | 1 April 2015 | 18 January 2019 |
| David Bushby | 18 January 2019 | date |

### Honolulu

Originally opened as a Consulate in January 1973, the posting was upgraded to a Consulate-General on 26 March 1978.
| Name | Start of term | End of term |
| David Wadham (Consul) | January 1973 | June 1975 |
| William Rowe (Consul) | June 1975 | 26 March 1978 |
| William Rowe MBE | 26 March 1978 | June 1979 |
| Brian Meade | June 1979 | February 1983 |
| Bill Fisher | February 1983 | April 1987 |
| Richard Smith | April 1987 | August 1989 |
| Robert Tyson | August 1989 | January 1993 |
| Murray Cobban | January 1993 | October 1995 |
| Colin McDonald | October 1995 | May 1998 |
| Peter Woolcott | May 1998 | July 2001 |
| Paul Robilliard | July 2001 | September 2004 |
| John Quinn | September 2004 | August 2007 |
| David Binns | August 2007 | August 2011 |
| Scott Dewar | August 2011 | February 2015 |
| Jeff Robinson | 8 February 2015 | 22 December 2017 |
| Jane Hardy | 22 December 2017 | 25 June 2021 |
| Andrea Gleason | 25 June 2021 | date |

### 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.
| Name | Start of term | End of term |
| A. I. Macrae (Trade Commissioner) | 1964 | 1966 |
| 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 |
| John Olsen | November 2002 | September 2006 |
| Innes Willox | September 2006 | March 2009 |
| Chris De Cure OAM | March 2009 | July 2012 |
| Karen Lanyon | July 2012 | October 2015 |
| Chelsey Martin | 22 October 2015 | 2020 |
| Jane Duke | 4 September 2020 | date |

### San Francisco

Since 1993, the consulate-general has been managed by Austrade.
| Name | Start of term | End of term |
| Edward Smart | July 1946 | October 1949 |
| N. N. Frewin (acting) | October 1949 | 1952 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| David Rutter | October 1986 | 1990 |
| David Charles | August 1990 | September 1993 |
| John Paul McCaffrey | 29 September 1993 | May 1995 |
| Dr Joe Hlubucek | 25 May 1995 | 1998 |
| Peter Lewis AM | 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 |
| Nick Nichles | March 2019 | date |