List of Australian Ambassadors to Ukraine

Ambassador of Australia to Ukraine
Incumbent
Bruce Edwards
(Chargé d’Affaires)
Style His Excellency
Nominator Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder Cavan Hogue
Formation 10 January 1992
Website Australian Embassy, Ukraine

The Ambassador of Australia to Ukraine 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 Ukraine. The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and is currently held by Chargé d’Affaires Bruce Edward, pending the appointment of a new ambassador.

History of relations

Ukraine and Australia have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1942 when Australia opened channels with the Soviet Union (which included the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic), although independent relations did not occur until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the establishment of a fully independent Ukraine in late 1991. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, Australia acted to recognise the new states of the Commonwealth of Independent States on 26 December 1991. Non-resident accreditation to Ukraine, based with the Australian Embassy in Moscow, was later established from 10 January 1992, but was transferred to the new interim embassy established in Kiev in November 2014 following the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine.[1] While Australia's embassy is temporarily based with the Canadian Embassy in Kiev, Australia also has a Consulate in the city headed by an Honorary Consul.[2]

The first resident ambassador, Doug Trappett, who was previously Deputy Head of Mission in Rome, had been sent to Kiev in December 2014 to deal with matters relating to the controversial downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which led to the deaths of 27 Australian citizens.[3][4] Trappett presented his credentials on 14 January 2015.[5]

Although initially considered an interim measure for 12 months, pending the resolution of the conflicts in the region, with the stalemating of various issues and the hardening of Ukrainian-Russian relations, the embassy's term of existence was extended in February 2016 to September 2016.[6] In September 2016, the decision was taken by foreign minister Julie Bishop to extend the embassy's term for a further two years with a resident diplomatic presence noting that it would allow Australia: "to work alongside their Ukrainian partners in close cooperation and further develop bilateral ties between the two countries."[7]

Office-holders

Ambassadors resident in Moscow

NameStart of termEnd of termReferences
Cavan Hogue10 January 1992November 1994
Geoffrey BentleyNovember 1994November 1998
Ruth Pearce18 November 199829 January 2002
Leslie Rowe18 December 2002February 2005
Bob Tyson28 February 2005June 2008[8]
Margaret TwomeyJune 2008October 2013[9]
Paul Myler24 October 2013November 2014[10]

Ambassadors resident in Kiev

NameStart of termEnd of termReferences
Doug Trappett12 December 2014March 2016[3]
Bruce Edwards (Chargé d’Affaires)March 2016present[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Political relations between Ukraine and Australia". Embassy of Ukraine in Australia. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. "Ukraine country brief". Australian Government. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 Abbott, Tony (12 December 2014). "First Resident Ambassador to Ukraine" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Wroe, David (21 November 2014). "Australia to host Ukrainian leader, open embassy in Kiev". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Olena Zerkal received Ambassador of Australia to Ukraine Douglas Robert Trappett". Embassy of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Bishop, Julie (10 February 2016). "Extension of Interim Australian Embassy in Kyiv" (Press release). Australian Government.
  7. 1 2 Bishop, Julie (29 September 2016). "Australian Government extends diplomatic presence in Ukraine" (Press release). Australian Government.
  8. ↑ Downer, Alexander (28 January 2005). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Russia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Smith, Stephen (30 April 2008). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Russia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Carr, Bob (1 November 2012). "Ambassador to Russia" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.