List of ambassadors of Australia to Saudi Arabia

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Ambassador of Australia to
Saudi Arabia
Incumbent
Mark Donovan
since 4 October 2021 (2021-10-04)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
StyleHis Excellency
Reports toMinister for Foreign Affairs
ResidenceRiyadh
NominatorPrime Minister of Australia
AppointerGovernor General of Australia
Inaugural holderIan Haig
Formation1974

The Ambassador of Australia to Saudi Arabia 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 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ambassador resides in Riyadh and also holds non-resident accreditation for Bahrain, Oman and Yemen. Australia appointed its first ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 1974.[1]

Initially the embassy was located in Jeddah, and it was moved in 1984 to Riyadh, to comply with a Saudi Government policy directive. The Jeddah post remained open, as a Consulate-General.[2]

The current ambassador, since October 2021, is Mark Donovan.

List of heads of mission[edit]

Ordinal Officeholder Other offices Residency Term start date Term end date Time in office Notes
1 Ian Haig Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1974 (1974) 1976 (1976) 1–2 years [1][3]
2 Donald Kingsmill 1976 (1976) 1979 (1979) 2–3 years [4]
3 Douglas Sturkey 1979 (1979) 1983 (1983) 3–4 years
4 Alan Brown 1983 (1983) 1984 (1984) 4–5 years [5]
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1984 (1984) 1988 (1988)
5 Alex McGoldrick 1988 (1988) 1991 (1991) 2–3 years [6]
6 Malcolm Leader 1991 (1991) 1993 (1993) 1–2 years [7][8]
7 Warwick Weemaes 1993 (1993) 1996 (1996) 2–3 years [9]
8 Philip Knight ABCD 1996 (1996) 1998 (1998) 1–2 years [10]
9 George Aitkin ABCD 1998 (1998) 2000 (2000) 1–2 years [11]
10 Bob Tyson ABCD 2000 (2000) 23 December 2004 (2004-12-23) 3–4 years [12]
11 Ian Biggs AB 2005 (2005) 2008 (2008) 2–3 years [13]
12 Kevin Magee ABC 2008 (2008) 2011 (2011) 2–3 years [14]
13 Neil Hawkins AB 2011 (2011) 2015 (2015) 3–4 years [15]
14 Ralph King ABC 2015 (2015) 25 May 2018 (2018-05-25) 2–3 years [16]
15 Ridwaan Jadwat ABC 25 May 2018 (2018-05-25) 2021 (2021) 2–3 years [17]
16 Mark Donovan ABC 4 October 2021 (2021-10-04) incumbent 2 years, 210 days [18][19]

Notes[edit]

^A : Also served as non-resident ambassador of Australia to the Kingdom of Bahrain, since 1996.
^B : Also served as non-resident ambassador of Australia to the Sultanate of Oman, since 1996.
^C : Also served as non-resident ambassador of Australia to the Republic of Yemen, from 1998 to December 2007, and since March 2015.
^D : Also served as non-resident ambassador of Australia to the State of Kuwait, from 1998 to December 2004.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Ambassador". The Canberra Times. 9 February 1974. p. 1.
  2. ^ "X - Diplomatic and Consular Relations" (PDF), Australian Year Book of International Law: 457-458, 1987, archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2012, retrieved 4 February 2017
  3. ^ Debelle, Bruce (29 March 2014). "Youngest ambassador had a deep affinity for the world of Islam - and cricket". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 5 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Ambassador named". The Canberra Times. 11 June 1976. p. 8.
  5. ^ "New Ambassador to Saudi Arabia". The Canberra Times. 12 November 1983. p. 3.
  6. ^ "Saudi Arabia ambassador announced". The Canberra Times. 9 January 1988. p. 3.
  7. ^ "New ambassador for Riyadh". The Canberra Times. 23 March 1991. p. 16.
  8. ^ Downer, Alexander (17 May 2000), Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Denmark, Australian Government, archived from the original on 12 February 2014
  9. ^ "Ambassador named". The Canberra Times. 1 September 1993. p. 6.
  10. ^ Downer, Alexander (22 March 1996). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador To Saudi Arabia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
  11. ^ Downer, Alexander (23 January 1998). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Saudi Arabia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
  12. ^ Downer, Alexander (18 August 2000). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Saudi Arabia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
  13. ^ Downer, Alexander (14 October 2004). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Saudi Arabia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  14. ^ Smith, Stephen (21 December 2007). "Diplomatic Appointment - Ambassador to Saudi Arabia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014.
  15. ^ Rudd, Kevin (14 July 2011). "Diplomatic Appointment - Saudi Arabia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  16. ^ Bishop, Julie (16 March 2015). "Ambassador to Saudi Arabia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
  17. ^ Bishop, Julie (25 May 2018). "Ambassador to Saudi Arabia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Ambassador to Saudi Arabia". Minister for Foreign Affairs. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Receives Credentials of a Number of Ambassadors of Brotherly and Friendly Countries". Saudi Press Agency (Press release). 4 October 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
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