List of ambassadors of Australia to China

Ambassador of Australia to China
since July 2019
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
StyleHis Excellency
Reports toMinister for Foreign Affairs
ResidenceBeijing
NominatorPrime Minister of Australia
AppointerGovernor General of Australia
Inaugural holderFrederic Eggleston
Formation28 October 1941
WebsiteAustralian Embassy, China

The ambassador of Australia to China 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 People's Republic of China (PRC). The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and has lived in Beijing since 1973.[1] The incumbent ambassador is Graham Fletcher who took up the appointment in July 2019. The ambassador's work is assisted by multiple consulates throughout the country that have visiting and reporting responsibilities, as well as handling consular and trade matters for the embassy.

Posting history

Australia's first diplomatic representative in China was Vivian Gordon Bowden, who in 1935 was appointed as a trade commissioner based in Shanghai.[2] The establishment of trade commissions in several Asian countries was an initiative of the Lyons government first announced in 1933, where previously Australian interests had been represented by the United Kingdom.[3] Bowden's office was based in the HSBC Building within the Shanghai International Settlement.[4] Bowden served until 1941 when he was transferred to Singapore, with the trade commission taken over by the new formal legation in Chongqing.[5]

Australia's legation was first accredited to the Republic of China and was located in Chongqing from 1941 to 1946, with the first Minister, Sir Frederic Eggleston, presenting his credentials to President Lin Sen on 30 October 1941. The legation later moved to Nanjing from June 1946 to 1949, initially located at 34 Peiping Road and then 26 Yihe Road.[6] Following the Proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Australian Government recalled its Ambassador from China to discuss recognition of the Communist Government.[7] The Government of the Republic of China, having retreated to Taipei, Taiwan, maintained its embassy in Australia until December 1972. In 1966 Australia opened an embassy in Taipei.[8] In 1972, diplomatic relations ceased following the decision of the government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to recognise the People's Republic of China, and the Taipei Embassy closed in 1973.[9] As a result of Australia's recognition of the PRC in 1973, Australia has no diplomatic representation in Taiwan and continues economic, trade and cultural relations through the Australian Office in Taipei.

After diplomatic recognition of the PRC in 1972, Australia established an embassy in Beijing in 1973,[10] followed by Consulates-General in Shanghai (1984), Guangzhou (1992),[11] and Chengdu (2013). The latter was opened following release of the Asian Century White Paper by the Gillard government, and calls for an expanded diplomatic footprint in China.[12] On 9 November 2014 the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, formally opened the Australian Consulate-General in Chengdu.[13] In March 2017, an agreement was signed to establish a fifth Australian Consulate-General in 2018, to be located in the northern city of Shenyang.[14] From 1991 to 2008, the ambassador to China was also accredited to Mongolia.

List of officeholders

Building of the former Australian Legation in Chongqing, 1941–1946.

Heads of Mission

Republic of China, 1941–1949

# Name Office Term start date Term end date Time in office Notes
1 Frederic Eggleston Minister 28 October 1941 (1941-10-28) 25 February 1944 (1944-02-25) 2 years, 120 days [15]
– Keith Officer Chargé d'affaires 25 February 1944 (1944-02-25) 15 October 1945 (1945-10-15) 1 year, 232 days
2 Douglas Copland Minister 1 January 1946 (1946-01-01) 7 June 1948 (1948-06-07) 2 years, 158 days
– Osmond Charles Fuhrman Chargé d'affaires 7 June 1948 (1948-06-07) 14 November 1948 (1948-11-14) 160 days
3 Keith Officer Ambassador 15 November 1948 (1948-11-15) 17 October 1949 (1949-10-17) 336 days [7][16]
Relations suspended

Republic of China, 1966–1973

# Name Office Term start date Term end date Time in office Notes
– Walter Handmer Chargé d'affaires 1966 1966 0 years [17]
4 Frank Bell Cooper Ambassador 1966 1969 2–3 years [18]
5 Hugh Dunn 1969 1972 2–3 years [19][20]
– Tony Godfrey-Smith Chargé d'affaires 1972 1973 0–1 years [20]
For Australian ambassadors after 1973 see the list of representatives of the Australian Office in Taipei

People's Republic of China, 1973–present

# Name Office Other offices Term start date Term end date Time in office Notes
1 Stephen FitzGerald Ambassador 1973 1976 2–3 years [10]
2 Garry Woodard 1976 1980 3–4 years [21]
3 Hugh Dunn 1980 1984 3–4 years [22]
4 Dennis Argall 1984 1985 0–1 years [23]
5 Ross Garnaut 1985 1988 2–3 years
6 David Sadleir 1988 1991 2–3 years
7 Michael Lightowler A 1991 1996 4–5 years [24]
8 Ric Smith A 1996 2000 3–4 years [25]
9 David Irvine A 2000 2003 2–3 years [26]
10 Alan Thomas A 2003 2007 3–4 years [27]
11 Geoff Raby A 2007 2011 3–4 years [28]
12 Frances Adamson 2011 2015 3–4 years [29]
13 Jan Adams AO, PSM February 2016 (2016-02) July 2019 (2019-07) 3 years, 5 months [30]
14 Graham Fletcher 28 August 2019 (2019-08-28) incumbent 5 years, 72 days [31][32][33][34]

Scott Dewar is the current Ambassador to the PRC https://china.embassy.gov.au/bjng/Ambassador.html

Notes

^A Also non-resident Australian Ambassador to Mongolia, 1991 to 2008.

Deputy Heads of Mission

Name Start of term End of term References
Colin S. Heseltine 1982 1985 [35]
David Ambrose 1985 1988 [36]
Colin S. Heseltine 1988 1992 [35]
Sam Gerovich 1992 1997 [37]
Penny Richards 1997 2000 [38]
Lydia Morton 2000 2003 [39]
Graham Fletcher 2003 2008 [40][32]
Graeme Meehan 2008 2012 [41]
Justin Hayhurst 2012 November 2016 [42][43]
Gerald Thomson November 2016 December 2019 [43]
Jason Robertson January 2020 present [44]

Consuls-General

Location Open Consular district
Consulate-General, Hong Kong 1972 Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR
Consulate-General, Shanghai 1984 Shanghai Municipality, Anhui, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang
Consulate-General, Guangzhou 1992 Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Hunan, Guangxi Zhuang AR
Consulate-General, Chengdu 2013 Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Municipality of Chongqing
Consulate-General, Shenyang 2019 Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang

Chengdu

Name Start of term End of term References
Nancy Gordon 30 May 2013 7 November 2016 [12]
Christopher Lim 7 November 2016 4 May 2021 [45]
Adelle Neary 4 May 2021 present [46]

Guangzhou

Name Start of term End of term References
Maurine Chong November 1992 31 May 1996 [47]
Zena Armstrong 31 May 1996 28 September 1999 [48]
John Courtney 28 September 1999 11 September 2003 [49]
Kevin Magee 11 September 2003 25 October 2006 [50]
Sean Kelly 26 January 2007 20 November 2009 [51][52]
Grant Dooley 20 November 2009 25 June 2012 [53]
Jill Collins 25 June 2012 11 February 2014 [54]
Dominic Trindade 11 February 2014 5 January 2018 [55]
Jason Robertson 5 January 2018 20 November 2022 [56]
Anthony Aspden 20 November 2022 present [57]

Shenyang

Name Start of term End of term References
Broughton Robertson 2 March 2019 present [58]

See also

References

  1. ^ CA 1977: Australian Embassy, People's Republic of China [Peking/Beijing], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 26 April 2015
  2. ^ "TRADE". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 399. New South Wales, Australia. 8 June 1935. p. 19. Retrieved 4 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Schevdin, Boris (2008). Emissaries of trade : a history of the Australian Trade Commissioner Service (PDF). Barton, ACT: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. p. 47. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  4. ^ "PROTECTING LIVES OF AUSTRALIANS". The Courier-Mail. No. 1244. Brisbane. 26 August 1937. p. 13. Retrieved 4 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "No New State Commissioner For Shanghai". The Advocate. Tasmania, Australia. 3 September 1941. p. 2. Retrieved 4 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ CA 1979: Australian Embassy, People's Republic of China [Nanking], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 26 April 2015
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