List of ambassadors of Switzerland to Australia
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The ambassador of Switzerland to Australia is an officer of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the head of the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation to the Commonwealth of Australia. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and holds non-resident accreditation for Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The ambassador is based with the embassy in Forrest in Canberra.
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| Ambassador of Switzerland to Australia | |
|---|---|
| |
Incumbent since 1 January 2022Caroline Bichet-Anthamatten | |
| Style | Her Excellency |
| Appointer | Swiss Federal Council |
| Inaugural holder | Dr Friedrich Gygax |
| Formation | 1961 |
| Website | Switzerland and Australia |
The ambassador is currently Caroline Bichet-Anthamatten. Switzerland and Australia have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1961, although consular representation has existed even before in Australia and its previous colonies: in Sydney since 1855, Melbourne since 1856, Brisbane since 1889, Adelaide since 1879 and consular agencies in Darwin (1978), Hobart (1968) and Perth (1971).
Ambassadors, 1961–present
| Incumbent | Start of term | End of term |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Friedrich Gygax[1] | 29 August 1961 | 23 March 1965 |
| Egbert von Graffenried | 2 September 1965 | 2 March 1970 |
| Dr Max König[2] | 26 May 1970 | 31 December 1975 |
| Marcel Grossenbacher | 10 March 1976 | 30 November 1978 |
| Dr Henri Rossi | 3 March 1979 | 31 October 1984 |
| Alfred Glesti[3] | 1 March 1985 | 22 August 1988 |
| Dr Arnold Hugentobler[4] | 25 November 1988 | 5 May 1992 |
| Peter Niederberger | 7 September 1992 | 2 March 1996 |
| Dr Bernhard Marfurt | 1 April 1996 | 2000 |
| André Faivet | 4 May 2000 | 1 September 2004 |
| Christian Mühlethaler | 2004 | 2008 |
| Dr Daniel Woker[5] | 2008 | 2012 |
| Marcel Stutz | 11 April 2012 | September 2016 |
| Pedro Zwahlen | 12 October 2016 | 31 December 2021 |
| Caroline Bichet-Anthamatten[6] | 1 January 2022 | - |
Consuls and consuls-general
Consuls in Sydney, 1855–present
| Incumbent | Start of term | End of term |
|---|---|---|
| Louis Chapalay (honorary consul) | 1855 | 1865 |
| August Parrot (honorary consul) | 1875 | 1880 |
| Friedrich Plüss (honorary consul) | 1881 | 1884 |
| Conrad Staehelin-Werner (honorary consul) | 1884 | 1890 |
| Jakob Roth (honorary consul) | 1890 | 1891 |
| Max Rutty (honorary consul) | 1896 | 1918 |
| Olav Pauss (honorary consul) | 1918 | 1920 |
| Eugen Bloch (honorary consul) | 1920 | 1931 |
| Eugen Bloch (honorary consul-general) | 1931 | 1933 |
| Hans Georg Hedinger (honorary consul-general) | 1933 | 1941 |
| Hans Georg Hedinger (consul-general) | 1941 | 1961 |
| Jakob Huber (consul-general) | 1961 | 1967 |
| Henri Jung (consul-general) | 1967 | 1974 |
| Raymond Tellenbach (consul-general) | 1975 | 1985 |
| Richard Wolf (consul-general) | 1985 | 1988 |
| Hans-Peter Egger (consul-general) | 1988 | 1992 |
| Hans Meier (consul-general) | 1992 | 1997 |
| Heinz Wey (consul-general) | 1997 | 2001 |
| Albert Mehr (consul-general) | 2001 | 2005 |
| Jürg Casserini (consul-general) | 2005 | 2009 |
| Markus Meli (consul-general) | 2009 | 2013 |
| Ernst Steinmann (consul-general) | 2013 | 2017 |
| Bernadette Hunkeler Brown (consul-general) | 2017 | 2022 |
| Cornelia Camenzind (consul-general) | 2022 | - |
Consuls in Melbourne, 1856–present
| Incumbent | Start of term | End of term |
|---|---|---|
| Achilles Bischoff (honorary Vice-consul) | 1856 | 1857 |
| Achilles Bischoff (honorary consul) | 1857 | 1859 |
| Samuel Rentsch (honorary consul) | 1859 | 1864 |
| Frédéric Guillaume de Pury (honorary consul) | 1875 | 1890 |
| Charles Martin (honorary consul) | 1891 | 1906 |
| Gustav Stahel (honorary consul) | 1907 | 1921 |
| Gustav Stahel (honorary consul-general) | 1921 | 1928 |
| Paul Louis Frossard (honorary consul-general) | 1928 | 1931 |
| Emile Bisang (honorary consul-general) | 1931 | 1932 |
| Johannes Alexander Pietzcker (honorary consul) | 1932 | 1951 |
| Paul-Emile Cattin (honorary consul) | 1951 | 1958 |
| Edwin Steiner (honorary consul) | 1958 | 1963 |
| Curt Mahnig (honorary consul) | 1964 | 1970 |
| Urs Karli (honorary consul) | 1971 | 1975 |
| Werner Zellweger (honorary consul) | 1975 | 1980 |
| Werner Zellweger (consul-general) | 1980 | 1983 |
| Henning Rieder (consul-general) | 1983 | 1986 |
| Günter Britschgi (consul-general) | 1987 | 1990 |
| Leo Renggli (consul-general) | 1990 | 1995 |
| Bernard Sandoz (consul-general) | 1995 | ???? |
| Erika Esther Kimpton (honorary consul) | 2007 | 2016 |
| Manuela Erb (honorary consul)[7] | 2016 | - |
Consuls in Adelaide
| Incumbent | Start of term | End of term |
|---|---|---|
| James Page (honorary Vice-consul) | 30 December 1879 | 31 December 1913 |
| Eduard Willis Van Senden (honorary Vice-consul)[8] | 6 November 1914 | 31 December 1918 |
| Paul Anton Richter (honorary consul) | 3 June 1969 | ???? |
| René Pfister (honorary consul) | 28 June 2000 | 2019 |
| Patrick Wille (honorary consul) | 2019 | - |
Consuls in Brisbane
| Incumbent | Start of term | End of term |
|---|---|---|
| Jakob Leutenegger (honorary consul) | 5 March 1889 | 1909 |
| George Gross (honorary consul) | 17 March 1909 | 30 June 1909 |
| William Schoch (honorary consul) | 25 July 1910 | 1925 |
| Henri Schaub (honorary consul) | 4 November 1926 | 1960 |
| Daniel Gschwind (honorary consul) | 23 April 2008 | - |
Consuls in Perth
| Incumbent | Start of term | End of term |
|---|---|---|
| Rudolf Hermann Abplanalp (honorary consul) | 11 August 1971 | 30 June 1993 |
| Prof. Ernst Jürg Weber (honorary consul) | 1 July 1993 | 2023 |
See also
- Australia–Switzerland relations
- Foreign relations of Switzerland
- List of ambassadors of Australia to Germany (accredited to Switzerland)