The Ambassador of Australia to France is an officer of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...

and the head of the Embassy of the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

to the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The position has the rank and status of an

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

and holds non-resident accreditation for

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

(since 2001),

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. From April 1976 to March 1991 there was a resident Ambassador in Algeria and has since been held by the ambassador, excepting a period from 1999–2002 when it was held by the Ambassador in Cairo. From October 1972 – August 1975, October 1976 – August 1978, January 1988 – September 1990, and March 1994 – September 1996 the Ambassador served as

Permanent Delegate of Australia to UNESCO The Permanent Delegate of Australia to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the delegation of the Commonwealth of Australia to ...

, a role that is now held by the Deputy Head of Mission. The Deputy Head also serves as the non-resident accredited Ambassador to

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. From 1978 to 2017, the ambassador had responsibility for relations with

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

until the establishment of a resident embassy in Rabat. The current Ambassador, since November 2020 is

Gillian Bird Gillian Elizabeth Bird (born in Adelaide) has served as Australia's Ambassador to France since November 2020. Bird concurrently serves as Australia's non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Mauritania, and Monaco. She is a former Permanent Repres ...

. France and Australia have enjoyed official diplomatic relations since 1945 when Australia opened its

Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

in Paris. The Legation was upgraded to Embassy status in 1948, when Colonel William Hodgson, who served as Minister to France, was appointed as Ambassador.

List of officeholders

Minister and Ambassadors to France

Ambassadors to Algeria

Notes

:A. Also non-resident Ambassador to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, 1991–2000, 2014–present. :B. Also non-resident Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, 2001–present. :C. Also Permanent Delegate of Australia to UNESCO, October 1972–August 1975, October 1976–August 1978, January 1988–September 1990, and March 1994–September 1996. :D. Also non-resident Ambassador to the Principality of Monaco, 3 May 2007–present. :E. Also non-resident Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, 1978–2007.

References

External links

Australian Embassy, France
{{Lists of heads of Australian diplomatic missions +