Style His Excellency Formation 1 March 1940 | Inaugural holder Richard Casey Website Embassy of Australia | |
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Nominator Prime Minister of Australia Appointer Governor-General of Australia | ||
The Ambassador of Australia to the United States 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 United States of America. The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and is one of Australia's most important diplomatic postings.
The Ambassador is currently Joe Hockey. The United States and Australia have enjoyed official diplomatic relations since 1 March 1940, when Australia established a legation in Washington as one of its first independent postings. First established as a Legation headed by an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, on 19 July 1946 it was upgraded to Embassy status and the Australian Minister, Frederic Eggleston became the first Ambassador. Several distinguished Australians have served as Ambassador: one Governor-General of Australia (Lord Casey), one Chief Justice of Australia (Sir Owen Dixon), one Governor of Tasmania (Sir James Plimsoll) and former federal leaders of the opposition Andrew Peacock from the Liberal Party of Australia, Kim Beazley of the Australian Labor Party, and former federal Treasurer Joe Hockey of the Liberal Party of Australia.