The Ambassador of Australia to Egypt 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 Arab Republic of Egypt. The current ambassador, since November 2018, is Glenn Miles, who resides in Cairo. The Ambassador also holds non-resident accreditation as Ambassador to Eritrea, Syria and Sudan.

History The first official Australian representative in Egypt was Cyril E. Hughes, who was appointed as trade commissioner in Cairo by the Lyons government in 1936 as part of its expansion of the trade commissioner scheme. He was also given responsibility for Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, the Sudan, Syria and Turkey. Hughes performed a quasi-diplomatic role, sending briefings to the Department of External Affairs on Middle Eastern politics. His successor James Payne remained in the post throughout World War II.

Australia opened its first embassy in the Arab world in Cairo, in 1950. There existed an embassy in Damascus, Syria from 1977 to 1999. Prior to 1977, accreditation for Syria was held by the embassies in Beirut, Lebanon (1973–1976) and Baghdad, Iraq (1976–1977). In 1991, with its independence, accreditation for Eritrea was held by the High Commission in Nairobi, until it was transferred to the embassy in Cairo in 2006.

After the Australian Government closed its post in Syrian embassy in 1999, the Ambassador to Egypt was named responsible for representing Australian interests in Syria.

List of heads of mission

Ordinal Officeholder Title Other offices Term start date Term end date Time in office Notes Minister to Egypt years years years Post withdrawn 9 September 1956 Minister to Cairo Ambassador to the United Arab Republic L. J. Lawrey years Ambassador of Australia to Egypt Keith Douglas Scott Robin Ashwin years years Frank Murray years Kenneth Rodgers years Ian Hutcheons years John Crighton years Colin McDonald years Michael Smith years years Robert Newton years Bob Bowker years years Ralph King years Neil Hawkins years Glenn Miles incumbent

Notes Also non-resident Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic, since 1999. Also non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of the Sudan, since 1999. Also non-resident Ambassador to the State of Eritrea, since 2006.

References

External links Australian Embassy Egypt