The ambassador of France to Australia is an officer of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development and the head of the Embassy of the French Republic to the Commonwealth of Australia. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and holds non-resident accreditation for Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The ambassador is based with the embassy in Perth Avenue, Yarralumla in Canberra.
The ambassador is currently Pierre-André Imbert, and France and Australia have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1944, although consular representation has existed in Australia and its previous colonies. In 1836, King Louis-Philippe created the first Australian Consulate in Sydney. Opened in 1842, the Sydney consulate was followed by one in Melbourne in 1854. During the Second World War, there existed two French delegations to Australia: one on behalf of the Vichy government, the other for the Free French. These delegations combined in July 1944 following Australia's formal recognition of the Free French forces as the legitimate government of France and Pierre Augé was appointed Minister by the provisional government of Charles de Gaulle in December 1944.
Ambassadors, 1945–present IncumbentStart of termEnd of termPierre Augé1945 'FRENCH MINISTER TO AUSTRALIA NAMED.', Sunday Mail (Brisbane), 11 March, p. 6, viewed 14 November 201510 March 19451949Gabriel Padovani19491952Louis Roché19521955Renaud Sivan19551960Philippe Monod19601963François Brière19631967André Favereau19671971Gabriel Van Laethem19711975Albert Tréca19751978Pierre Carraud19781981Jean-Bernard MériméeFebruary 1982May 1985Bernard Follin19851988Roger Duzer19881991Philippe Baude19911995Dominique Girard19952000Pierre Viaux20002003Patrick Hénault20032005François Descoueyte20052008Michel Filhol20082011Stéphane Romatet20112014Christophe Lecourtier27 June 2014June 2017Christophe Penot27 June 2017November 2020Jean-Pierre Thébault27 November 20202023Pierre-André Imbert2023
See also Australia–France relations Foreign relations of France List of ambassadors of Australia to France
References
External links La France en Australie