List of ambassadors of Australia to Israel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The ambassador of Australia to Israel 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 State of Israel.[1] The ambassador 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 State of Israel in Tel Aviv. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. The current ambassador, since October 2020, is Paul Griffiths.
| Ambassador of Australia to Israel | |
|---|---|
| |
 Incumbent since 20 December 2022Ralph King | |
| Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Reports to | Minister for Foreign Affairs |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of Australia |
| Appointer | Governor-General of Australia |
| Inaugural holder | Osmond Charles Fuhrman |
| Formation | 28 October 1949 |
| Website | Australian Embassy, Israel |
Israel and Australia have enjoyed official diplomatic relations since the Australian government of Ben Chifley recognised Israel on 28 January 1949.[2] The first Australian representative was Osmond Charles Fuhrman who was appointed as the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Australian legation in Tel Aviv in October 1949.[3] Orsmond presented his credentials to President Chaim Weizmann on 4 January 1950.[4] In October 1960 the legations of Israel in Canberra and of Australia in Tel Aviv were raised to embassy status and the Australian Minister John McMillan became the first ambassador.[5]
List of heads of mission
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Title | Term start date | Term end date | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osmond Charles Fuhrman OBE | Minister to Israel | 28 October 1949 | March 1955 | 5 years, 4 months | [6] |
| 2 | Bertram Ballard | July 1955 | February 1960 | 4 years, 7 months | [7] | |
| 3 | John McMillan | March 1960 | 14 October 1960 | 3 years, 1 month | [4][8] | |
| Ambassador of Australia to the State of Israel |
14 October 1960 | April 1963 | ||||
| 4 | John Hood CBE | April 1963 | September 1964 | 1 year, 5 months | [9] | |
| 5 | William Landale | January 1965 | March 1970 | 5 years, 2 months | [10] | |
| 6 | Marshall Johnston | March 1970 | September 1972 | 2 years, 6 months | [11] | |
| 7 | Rawdon Dalrymple | September 1972 | June 1975 | 2 years, 9 months | [12] | |
| 8 | Richard Smith | June 1975 | November 1977 | 2 years, 5 months | [13] | |
| 9 | Walter Handmer | November 1977 | July 1980 | 2 years, 8 months | [14] | |
| 10 | David Goss | July 1980 | December 1983 | 3 years, 5 months | [15] | |
| 11 | Robert Merrillees | December 1983 | 1987 | 3–4 years | [16] | |
| 12 | John Campbell | 1987 | July 1990 | 2–3 years | [17] | |
| 13 | William Fisher | July 1990 | July 1993 | 3 years | [18][19] | |
| 14 | Peter William Rodgers | January 1994 | May 1997 | 3 years, 4 months | [20] | |
| 15 | Ian Wilcock | May 1997 | February 2000 | 2 years, 9 months | ||
| 16 | Richard Rigby | February 2000 | July 2001 | 1 year, 5 months | [21] | |
| 17 | Ross Burns | July 2001 | September 2003 | 2 years, 2 months | [22] | |
| 18 | Tim George | September 2003 | September 2006 | 3 years | [23] | |
| 19 | James Larsen | September 2006 | March 2010 | 3 years, 6 months | [24] | |
| 20 | Andrea Faulkner | March 2010 | June 2013 | 3 years, 3 months | [25] | |
| 21 | Dave Sharma | June 2013 | 19 June 2017 | 4 years | [26][27][28] | |
| 22 | Chris Cannan | 19 June 2017 | September 2020 | 3 years, 2 months | [28][29] | |
| 23 | Paul Griffiths | October 2020 | incumbent | 5 years, 7 months | [30] |