The Ambassador of Australia to Sweden is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 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

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The ambassador resides in Stockholm. The ambassador also holds non-resident accreditation for

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

(since 1968) and Latvia (since 1997). Accreditation has also previously been held for

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(1997–2000),

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

(1970–2003), Lithuania (1997–2013),

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

(1997–2000) and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

(1991–2018).

Posting history

The earliest Australian representation in Sweden dates to the appointment of a Trade commissioner to Stockholm, which was first announced on 11 May 1958 with responsibility for promoting trade with Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland: "the post would provide an important link in Australia’s trade liaison with the Scandinavian countries, which had recently formed the Nordic Common Market and were an important factor in the discussions now taking place for the formation of a European Free Trade Area. The Stockholm post would ensure far more effective contact with those countries on trade developments in Europe, which were of vital importance to Australia." The first Australia trade commissioner in Stockholm, Bill Carney, took up office in December 1958. On 28 March 1961, the acting Minister for External Affairs,

Sir Garfield Barwick Sir Garfield Edward John Barwick, (22 June 190313 July 1997) was an Australian judge who was the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1964 to 1981. He had earlier been a Liberal Party politician, serving as a ...

, announced that an Australian legation would be established in Sweden, absorbing the existing trade commissioner's office, with Carney assuming office as

chargé d'affaires ad interim Chargé () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department in central France. Chargé is a small town near Amboise. The Rock 'in Chargé festival has revitalized the village sinc2006 Population The inhab ...

from 15 June 1961. In November 1963, it was announced that the legation would be upgraded to the status of embassy, with the Australian Ambassador to the Soviet Union resident in Moscow appointed as the first ambassador to Sweden. On 27 September 1965,

Bertram Ballard Bertram Charles Ballard (22 January 1903 – 15 July 1981) was an Australian public servant and diplomat. Life and career Ballard was born on 22 January 1903 in Toorak, Melbourne the eldest of three children in his family. He attended Scotch ...

was appointed as the first resident ambassador to Sweden, and Ballard presented his credentials to King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden on 21 February 1966. In May 1968 the Minister for External Affairs,

Paul Hasluck Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck, (1 April 1905 – 9 January 1993) was an Australian statesman who served as the 17th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1969 to 1974. Prior to that, he was a Liberal Party politician, holding min ...

, announced that the Australian Ambassador to Sweden would receive non-resident accreditation as Ambassador to Finland to exchange representatives at the ambassador level. In July 1968, the second resident Ambassador to Sweden, Roy Peachey, was appointed as the first Ambassador to Finland. On 8 November 1970, the Minister for Foreign Affairs,

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...

, announced the appointment of Peachey as Australia's first ambassador to Norway whilst remaining ambassador to Sweden and Finland. Peachey presented his credentials to King

Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

of Norway on 24 November 1970. In 2003, responsibility for Norway was transferred to the Ambassador to Denmark. On 27 August 1991, Prime Minister Bob Hawke announced Australia's decision to re-establish full diplomatic relations with Estonia, with the Ambassador to Sweden,

Robert Merrillees Robert S. Merrillees (born 25 July 1938) is a former Australian diplomat and archaeologist. His memoir ''Diplomatic Digs'' was released in 2012 as an e-book. Merrillees joined the Australian Public Service in the Department of External Affairs ...

, receiving non-resident accreditation as Australia's first Ambassador to Estonia from 21 November 1991. Responsibility for relations with Estonia was held until 2018, when Foreign Minister

Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Curtin ...

established a new Embassy in Estonia, which would function on a "pop-up" basis, with the ambassador resident in Tallinn for two months of the year and the embassy having a virtual presence based in Stockholm for the remainder of the year. When the new government of Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

cut the budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1996–97, forcing the closure of the Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 1997, accreditation for Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, and Lithuania, was transferred to the embassy in Sweden. However responsibility for relations with Denmark and Iceland was lost when the Embassy in Denmark reopened in May 2000. In 2013, responsibility for relations with Lithuania was transferred to the Ambassador to Poland.

Officeholders

Notes

: Also served concurrently as the resident Ambassador of Australia to the Soviet Union, 29 November 1963–27 September 1965. : Also served as non-resident Ambassador of Australia to Finland, 1968–present. : Also served as non-resident Ambassador of Australia to Norway, 1970–2003. : Also served as non-resident Ambassador of Australia to Estonia, 1991–2018. : Also served as non-resident Ambassador of Australia to Denmark, 1997–2000. : Also served as non-resident Ambassador of Australia to Iceland, 1997–2000. : Also served as non-resident Ambassador of Australia to Latvia, 1997–present. : Also served as non-resident Ambassador of Australia to Lithuania, 1997–2013.

References

External links

Australian Embassy, Sweden - Finland and Latvia
{{Lists of heads of Australian diplomatic missions Sweden Australia

Posting history

Officeholders

Notes

See also

References

External links