Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Permanent Mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United Nations in New York. The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and is the lead Australian representative to the UN, although that role is also shared with representatives present at the United Nations Office in Geneva, the United Nations Office in Vienna and the United Nations Office at Nairobi, and the delegations to UNESCO and the United Nations Agencies in Rome. Australia is a charter member of the United Nations and has sent representatives to New York since 1946.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations | |
---|---|
Style | His Excellency |
Nominator | Prime Minister of Australia |
Appointer | Governor General of Australia |
Inaugural holder | Paul Hasluck |
Formation | 1946 |
Website | Permanent Representative |
The Permanent Representative, currently Mitch Fifield, is charged with representing Australia during plenary meetings of the General Assembly and, when Australia holds a non-permanent seat or by invitation, the Security Council, except in the rare situation in which a more senior officer (such as the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Prime Minister of Australia) is present. The post is appointed by the Governor General of Australia in the name of the monarch, and nominated by the Prime Minister.
Office holders
Name | Start of term | End of term | References |
Norman Makin (Head of Delegation) | 1945 | 1946 | |
Paul Hasluck | 1946 | 1947 | |
John Hood | 1947 | 1950 | |
Mick Shann (acting) | 1950 | 1951 | |
Bill Forsyth | 1951 | 1956 | |
Edward Ronald Walker | 1956 | 1959 | |
James Plimsoll | 1959 | 1963 | |
David Hay | 1964 | 1965 | [1] |
Patrick Shaw | 1965 | 1970 | |
Laurence McIntyre | 1970 | 1975 | |
Ralph Harry | 1975 | 1978 | |
Harold David Anderson | 1978 | 1982 | |
Richard Woolcott | 1982 | 1988 | |
Michael Costello (acting) | 1988 | 1989 | |
Peter Wilenski | 1989 | 1992 | |
Richard Butler | 1992 | 1996 | |
Penelope Wensley | 1997 | 2001 | [2] |
John Dauth | 2001 | 2006 | [3] |
Caroline Millar (acting) | 2006 | 2006 | |
Robert Hill | 2006 | 2009 | |
Gary Quinlan | 2009 | 2014 | [4] |
Gillian Bird | 2015 | 2019 | [5] |
Mitch Fifield | 2019 | incumbent | [6][7] |
References
- Farquharson, John (22 May 2009). "David Hay, 1916-2009". smh.com.a. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
- "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York". Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York". Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations". Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- "New Permanent Representative of Australia Presents Credentials (2015)". United Nations. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- "Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations". Minister for Foreign Affairs. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- "New Permanent Representative of Australia Presents Credentials (2019)". United Nations. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.