List of ambassadors of the United States to Australia

The position of United States Ambassador to Australia has existed since 1940. U.S.–Australian relations have been close throughout the history of Australia. Before World War II, Australia was closely aligned with the United Kingdom, but it has strengthened its relationship with the United States since 1942, as Britain's influence in Asia has declined and the United States' influence has increased. At the governmental level, United States–Australia relationships are formalised by the ANZUS treaty and Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement.

Ambassador of the United States to Australia
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Caroline Kennedy
since July 25, 2022[1]
Inaugural holderClarence E. Gauss
(as US Minister to Australia)
Formation1940
WebsiteChargé d’affaires to Australia Edit this at Wikidata

The embassy in Canberra has long been regarded as a desirable posting and hence has become a patronage position. U.S. Ambassadors to Australia have traditionally been friends, political allies, or former business associates of the current President. Some have been major donors to the President's election campaign or political party. Few have been career diplomats (Marshall Green was a conspicuous exception). The two ambassadors during the Bush Administration, for example, were Tom Schieffer, a former business associate of President Bush, and Robert McCallum Jr., a Bush college friend. In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's close associate and nominee to be US Minister in Canberra, Edward J. Flynn, was forced to withdraw his nomination for the position following difficulties in the senate confirmation process.[2] The actor Fess Parker was offered the post in 1985 by Ronald Reagan, after representing Reagan at an event in Australia. Parker considered it, but turned it down.[3]

This arrangement has suited Australian governments, which welcome the ability of such Ambassadors to gain direct access to the President, bypassing the State Department. However, this has often had the result of long periods without an appointed ambassador and additional delays in the Senate confirmation process, with the career diplomat deputy head of mission serving as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, such as between February 2005 and August 2006, from September 2016 to February 2019 and from January 2021 to July 2022.

United States Ambassadors to Australia

The following individuals have served as the US Ambassadors to Australia, or any precedent titles:

List of US Ambassadors to Australia
Ordinal Officeholder Image Term began Term ended Time in office Notes
US Ministers to Australia
1Clarence E. GaussJuly 17, 1940March 5, 1941
2Nelson T. JohnsonSeptember 12, 1941April 20, 1945
US Ambassadors to Australia
3Robert Butler19461948[4]
4Myron M. Cowen19481949
5Pete Jarman8 June 1949 (1949-06-08)31 July 1953 (1953-07-31)4 years, 53 days[5]
6Amos J. PeasleeAugust 12, 1953February 16, 1956
7Douglas M. Moffat19561956
8William J. Sebald14 March 1957 (1957-03-14)31 October 1961 (1961-10-31)4 years, 231 days[6]
9William C. Battle13 July 1962 (1962-07-13)31 August 1964 (1964-08-31)2 years, 49 days[7]
10Ed Clark19651967[8]
11William H. Crook19681969
12Walter L. Rice19691973
13Marshall GreenJune 8, 1973July 31, 1975
14James Ward Hargrove19761977
15Philip H. Alston19771981[9][10]
16Robert D. Nesen20 November 1981 (1981-11-20)2 May 1985 (1985-05-02)3 years, 163 days[11]
17Laurence W. Lane6 December 1985 (1985-12-06)29 April 1989 (1989-04-29)3 years, 144 days[12]
18Melvin F. Sembler10 October 1989 (1989-10-10)28 February 1993 (1993-02-28)3 years, 141 days[13]
19Edward J. Perkins24 November 1993 (1993-11-24)19 July 1996 (1996-07-19)2 years, 238 days[14]
20Genta H. Holmes11 April 1997 (1997-04-11)23 July 2000 (2000-07-23)3 years, 103 days[15]
21Edward (Skip) Gnehm30 August 2000 (2000-08-30)22 June 2001 (2001-06-22)296 days[16]
−Michael P. Owens22 June 2001 (2001-06-22)22 August 2001 (2001-08-22)61 daysChargé d’affaires[17]
22Thomas Schieffer23 August 2001 (2001-08-23)18 February 2005 (2005-02-18)3 years, 179 days[18]
−William Stanton19 February 2005 (2005-02-19)5 July 2006 (2006-07-05)1 year, 136 daysChargé d’affaires[19]
−Michael P. Owens5 July 2006 (2006-07-05)23 August 2006 (2006-08-23)49 daysChargé d’affaires[20]
23Robert McCallum, Jr.24 August 2006 (2006-08-24)20 January 2009 (2009-01-20)2 years, 149 days[21]
−Daniel A. Clune20 January 2009 (2009-01-20)26 November 2009 (2009-11-26)310 daysChargé d’affaires[22]
24Jeff Bleich26 November 2009 (2009-11-26)12 September 2013 (2013-09-12)3 years, 290 days[23]
−J. Thomas Dougherty12 September 2013 (2013-09-12)24 September 2013 (2013-09-24)12 daysChargé d’affaires[24]
25John Berry25 September 2013 (2013-09-25)20 September 2016 (2016-09-20)2 years, 361 days[25]
−James Carouso21 September 2016 (2016-09-21)12 March 2019 (2019-03-12)2 years, 173 daysChargé d’affaires[26]
26Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr.13 March 2019 (2019-03-13)19 January 2021 (2021-01-19)1 year, 312 days[27]
−Michael B. Goldman20 January 2021 (2021-01-20)25 July 2022 (2022-07-25)1 year, 141 daysChargé d’affaires[28]
27Caroline Kennedy25 July 2022 (2022-07-25)Incumbent287 days

See also

References
  1. "Caroline Kennedy Officially Starts Her Job as U.S. Ambassador to Australia". 25 July 2022.
  2. Birkner, Michael (2018). "The Battle FDR Lost:The Failed Nomination of Boss Ed Flynn as Minister to Australia". The Cupola. Passport 48 (1): 33–39. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  3. Legacy.com, Fess Parker obituary
  4. "Robert Butler (1897–1955)". U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  5. United States Congress. "(id: J000058)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  6. William Joseph Sebald at Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State
  7. Daily Progress obituary
  8. Clark, Anne. Australian Adventure. University of Texas Press, 1969, p. 6.
  9. "PHILIP HENRY ALSTON JR. (1911-1988)". U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian.
  10. "United States Ambassador to Australia - Nomination of Philip H. Alston, Jr". The American Presidency Project.
  11. "Reagan's Nomination of Nesen as Ambassador to Australia". Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  12. "L. W. Lane, Jr". Council of American Ambassadors web site. 2004. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  13. "Australia bestows honor on Sembler". St. Petersburg Times. 14 May 2000. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  14. "Edward Perkins". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  15. "Genta Hawkins Holmes". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  16. "Edward Gnehm". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  17. "Deputy Chief of Mission". US Diplomatic Mission to Australia. US Department of State. Archived from the original on 13 June 2001. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  18. "John Schieffer". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  19. "William A. Stanton (1947–)". Office of the Historian. US Department of State. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  20. "Deputy Chief of Mission". Embassy of the United States Canberra Australia. US Department of State. Archived from the original on 10 August 2006. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  21. "Robert McCallum". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  22. "Dan Clune Chargé d'Affaires ad interim". Embassy of the United States Canberra Australia. U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  23. "Jeff Bleich". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  24. "Deputy Chief of Mission Thomas Dougherty". Embassy of the United States Canberra Australia. US Department of State. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  25. "John Berry". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  26. "Chargé d'Affaires James Carouso". U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Australia. US Department of State. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  27. "Arthur Culvahouse Jr". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  28. "Chargé d'Affaires Michael Goldman - U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Australia". 7 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
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