List of ambassadors of the United States to Australia

The position of United States Ambassador to Australia has existed since 1940. U.S.–Australian relations have been close throughout the history of Australia. Before World War II, Australia was closely aligned with the United Kingdom, but it has strengthened its relationship with the United States since 1942, as Britain's influence in Asia has declined and the United States' influence has increased. At the governmental level, United States–Australia relationships are formalized by the ANZUS treaty and Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement.

The embassy in Canberra has long been regarded as a desirable posting and hence has become a patronage position. U.S. Ambassadors to Australia have traditionally been friends, political allies, or former business associates of the incumbent president. Some have been major donors to the president's election campaign or political party. Few have been career diplomats (Marshall Green was a conspicuous exception). The two ambassadors during the Bush Administration, for example, were Tom Schieffer, a former business associate of President Bush, and Robert McCallum Jr., a Bush college friend. In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's close associate and nominee to be U.S. Minister in Canberra, Edward J. Flynn, was forced to withdraw his nomination for the position following difficulties in the senate confirmation process. The actor Fess Parker was offered the post in 1985 by Ronald Reagan, after representing Reagan at an event in Australia. Parker considered it, but turned it down.Legacy.com, Fess Parker obituary

This arrangement has suited Australian governments, which welcome the ability of such ambassadors to gain direct access to the president, bypassing the State Department. However, this has often had the result of long periods without an appointed ambassador and additional delays in the Senate confirmation process, with the career diplomat deputy head of mission serving as chargé d’affaires ad interim, such as between February 2005 and August 2006, from September 2016 to February 2019, from January 2021 to July 2022 and since November 2024.

United States ambassadors to Australia The following individuals have served as the U.S. ambassadors to Australia, or any precedent titles: + List of U.S. ambassadors to Australia Ordinal Officeholder Image Term began Term ended Time in office Notes U.S. Ministers to Australia July 17, 1940 March 5, 1941 September 12, 1941 April 20, 1945 U.S. Ambassadors to Australia 1946 1948 1948 1949 Amos J. Peaslee August 12, 1953 February 16, 1956 Douglas M. Moffat 1956 1956 William Joseph Sebald at Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State Daily Progress obituary 1965 1967 Clark, Anne. Australian Adventure. University of Texas Press, 1969, p. 6. 1968 1969 Walter L. Rice 1969 1973 June 8, 1973 July 31, 1975 1976 1977 1977 1981 Chargé d’affaires Chargé d’affaires Chargé d’affaires Chargé d’affaires Chargé d’affaires Chargé d’affaires Chargé d’affaires Chargé d’affaires Chargé d’affaires Incumbent

List of ambassadors of the United States to Australia

Bron en licentie