List of Australian envoys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Warner | 20 March 2003 | 14 August 2003 | 147 days | [1] |
| 2 | Les Luck | 14 August 2003 | 20 July 2006 | 2 years, 340 days | [2] |
| 3 | Mike Smith | 20 July 2006 | 5 September 2008 | 2 years, 47 days | [3] |
| 4 | Bill Paterson | 5 September 2008 | 14 March 2013 | 4 years, 190 days | [4] |
| 5 | Bill Fisher | 14 March 2013 | 18 May 2014 | 1 year, 65 days | [5] |
| 6 | Miles Armitage | 18 May 2014 | 21 July 2016 | 2 years, 64 days | [6] |
| 7 | Paul Foley | 21 July 2016 | 18 February 2021 | 4 years, 212 days | [7] |
| 8 | Roger Noble | 18 February 2021 | 9 February 2023 | 1 year, 356 days | [8] |
| 9 | Richard Feakes | 22 May 2023 | Incumbent | 3 years, 83 days | [9] |
Ambassadors for the Environment
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Ninian Stephen | 1989 | 1992 | 2–3 years | |||
| 2 | Penelope Wensley | 1992 | January 1996 | 3–4 years | |||
| 3 | Howard Bamsey | January 1996 | September 1997 | 1 year, 8 months | [10] | ||
| 4 | Meg McDonald | September 1997 | November 1998 | 1 year, 2 months | [11] | ||
| 5 | Ralph Hillman | November 1998 | March 2002 | 3 years, 4 months | [12] | ||
| 6 | Christopher Langman | March 2002 | February 2004 | 1 year, 11 months | [13] | ||
| 7 | Justin Brown | October 2004 | January 2005 | 3 months | [14] | ||
| 8 | Jan Adams | January 2005 | 2007 | 1–2 years | [15] | ||
| Role merged with the Ambassador for Climate Change | |||||||
| 9 | Peter Woolcott | November 2014 | 29 February 2016 | 1 year, 3 months | [16] | ||
| 10 | Patrick Suckling | 29 February 2016 | 18 November 2019 | 3 years, 263 days | [17] | ||
| 11 | Jamie Isbister | 18 November 2019 | Incumbent | 6 years, 268 days | [18] | ||
Ambassadors for Climate Change
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Elizabeth Adams | 2007 | February 2009 | 1–2 years | |||
| 2 | Louise Hand | February 2009 | 13 May 2012 | 3 years, 3 months | [19] | ||
| 3 | Justin Lee | 13 May 2012 | 1 November 2014 | 2 years, 172 days | [20] | ||
| Role merged with the Ambassador for the Environment | |||||||
| 4 | Kristin Tilley | 9 November 2022 | Incumbent | 3 years, 277 days | [21] | ||
Ambassadors for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology
Ambassadors for Regional Health Security
| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murray Proctor | Ambassador for HIV/AIDS | December 2007 | May 2012 | 4 years, 5 months | [25] |
| 2 | James Gilling | Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria | 3 October 2012 | 13 June 2017 | 4 years, 253 days | [25] |
| 3 | Blair Exell | Ambassador for Regional Health Security | 13 June 2017 | 3 March 2020 | 2 years, 264 days | [26] |
| 4 | Stephanie Williams | 3 March 2020 | Incumbent | 6 years, 163 days | [27] |
Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking
| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Buckley | Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues | April 2002 | 30 July 2003 | 1 year, 3 months | [28] |
| 2 | Caroline Millar | 30 July 2003 | 19 December 2005 | 2 years, 142 days | [29] | |
| 3 | Lydia Morton | 19 December 2005 | January 2007 | 1 year | [30] | |
| 4 | Michael Potts | January 2007 | June 2009 | 2 years, 5 months | [31] | |
| 5 | Peter Woolcott | June 2009 | February 2010 | 8 months | [32] | |
| 6 | James Larsen | February 2010 | 27 May 2012 | 2 years, 3 months | [33] | |
| 7 | Craig Chittick | 27 May 2012 | December 2014 | 2 years, 188 days | [33] | |
| 8 | Andrew Goledzinowski | December 2014 | 19 October 2017 | 2 years, 10 months | [34] | |
| 9 | Geoffrey Shaw | Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking | 19 October 2017 | 22 May 2020 | 2 years, 216 days | [35] |
| 10 | Lucienne Manton | 22 May 2020 | Incumbent | 6 years, 83 days | [36] |
Ambassadors for Gender Equality
| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penny Williams | Ambassador for Women and Girls | 13 September 2011 | 16 December 2013 | 2 years, 94 days | [37] |
| 2 | Natasha Stott Despoja | 16 December 2013 | 21 November 2016 | 2 years, 341 days | [38] | |
| 3 | Sharman Stone | 21 November 2016 | 8 March 2020 | 3 years, 108 days | [39] | |
| 4 | Julie-Ann Guivarra | Ambassador for Gender Equality | 8 March 2020 | 1 October 2021 | 1 year, 207 days | [40] |
| 5 | Christine Clarke | Ambassador for Women and Girls | 31 January 2022 | 20 December 2022 | 323 days | [41] |
| 6 | Stephanie Copus-Campbell | Ambassador for Gender Equality | 20 December 2022 | Incumbent | 3 years, 236 days | [42][43] |
Ambassadors for Human Rights
| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phillip Ruddock | Special Envoy for Human Rights | 8 February 2016 | October 2017 | 1 year, 7 months | [44] | |
| Post abolished | |||||||
| 2 | Bronte Moules | Ambassador for Human Rights | TBD | Incoming | [43][45] | ||
Special Envoys
Parliamentarians
Special Envoy for the Arts
| # | Officeholder | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Susan Templeman MP | Labor | 1 June 2022 | Incumbent | 4 years, 73 days | [46] | |
Special Envoy for Citizenship and Community Engagement
| # | Officeholder | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip Ruddock MP | Liberal | 28 May 2015 | 9 May 2016 | 347 days | [47] | |
Special Envoy for Cyber Security and Digital Resilience
| # | Officeholder | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Charlton MP | Labor | 29 July 2024 | Incumbent | 2 years, 15 days | [48] | |
Special Envoy for Defence and Veterans' Affairs
| # | Officeholder | 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 | Incumbent | 2 years, 15 days | [48] | |
Special Envoy for Disaster Recovery
| # | Officeholder | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senator Tony Sheldon | Labor | 24 July 2022 | Incumbent | 4 years, 20 days | [49] | |
Special Envoy for Drought Assistance and Recovery
| # | Officeholder | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barnaby Joyce MP | National | 11 September 2018 | 29 May 2019 | 260 days | [50] | |
Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef
| # | Officeholder | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warren Entsch MP | Liberal National[a] | 29 May 2019 | 11 April 2022 | 2 years, 317 days | ||
| 2 | Senator Nita Green | Labor | 1 June 2022 | Incumbent | 4 years, 73 days | [51] | |
- Entsch sat in the Liberal party room.
Special Envoy for Indigenous Affairs
| # | Officeholder | 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 | 18 May 2019 | 262 days | [52] | |
| 2 | Senator Pat Dodson | Labor | Special Envoy for Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart | 1 June 2022 | 26 January 2024 | 1 year, 239 days | [51] | |
Special Envoy for Northern Australia
| # | Officeholder | Party | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senator Susan McDonald | Liberal National[a] | Special Envoy for Northern Australia | 27 June 2021 | 23 May 2022 | 330 days | [53] | |
| 2 | Luke Gosling MP | Labor | Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans' Affairs and Northern Australia | 29 July 2024 | Incumbent | 2 years, 15 days | [48] | |
- McDonald sat in the National party room.
Special Envoy for Social Cohesion
| # | Officeholder | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Khalil MP | Labor | 29 July 2024 | Incumbent | 2 years, 15 days | [48] | |
Special Envoy for Trade
| # | Officeholder | Party | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Robb MP | Liberal | 18 February 2016 | 9 May 2016 | 81 days | [54] | |
Others
Diplomatic
Special Envoy to Africa
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malcolm Fraser | 1996 | 1999 | 2–3 years | [55] |
| 2 | Bob McMullan | 2010 | 2012 | 1–2 years | [56] |
| 3 | Joanna Hewitt | 2012 | 2012 | Unknown | [57][58] |
Special Envoy for the Asia Pacific Community
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Woolcott | 2008 | Unknown | Unknown | [59] |
Special Envoy to Bhutan
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Fischer | c. 2011 | Unknown | Unknown | [57][60] |
Special Envoy to Central Asia
Special Envoy to Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Caucasus
| # | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malcolm Fraser | Special Envoy to Yugoslavia | 19 April 1999 | 1999 | Unknown | [62] |
| 2 | Russell Trood | Special Envoy to Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Caucasus | 31 July 2011 | 2012 | 0–1 years | [63] |
| 3 | Angus Houston | Special Envoy to Ukraine | 21 July 2014 | 2014 | Unknown | [64][65] |
Special Envoy to Eritrea, Rwanda and South Sudan
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Fischer | c. 2011 | Unknown | Unknown | [57][60] |
Special Envoy to Francophone countries and La Francophonie
Special Envoy to Latin America and the Caribbean
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John McCarthy | c. 2011 | 2012 | Unknown | [57][66] |
Special Envoy to Lusophone countries
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neil Mules | c. 2011 | 2012 | Unknown | [57] |
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 | Unknown | Unknown | [67][68] |
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 | Incumbent | 3 years, 41 days | [69] |
Special Envoy for Southeast Asia
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholas Moore | 12 November 2022 | Incumbent | 3 years, 274 days | [70] |
Special Envoy to Sri Lanka
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John McCarthy | 2 November 2009 | Unknown | Unknown | [71] |
Issues
Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jillian Segal | 9 July 2024 | Incumbent | 2 years, 35 days | [72] |
Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aftab Malik | 14 October 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 303 days | [73] |
Special Envoy for the Kokoda Track
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandy Hollway | 2008 | Unknown | Unknown | [74] |
Special Envoy for Operation Sovereign Borders
Special Envoy on Whale Conservation
| # | Officeholder | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandy Hollway | 2008 | 2009 | 0–1 years | [76][77] |