List of ambassadors of Australia to France

The ambassador of Australia to France 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 French Republic. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and holds non-resident accreditation for Algeria, Mauritania (since 2001),^[1] Monaco. From April 1976 to March 1991 there was a resident ambassador in Algeria and has since been held by the ambassador, excepting a period from 1999–2002 when it was held by the ambassador in Cairo.^[2] From October 1972 – August 1975, October 1976 – August 1978, January 1988 – September 1990, and March 1994 – September 1996 the Ambassador served as Permanent Delegate of Australia to UNESCO, a role that is now held by the Deputy Head of Mission. The Deputy Head also serves as the non-resident accredited Ambassador to Chad. From 1978 to 2017, the ambassador had responsibility for relations with Morocco until the establishment of a resident embassy in Rabat.^[3]

Ambassador of Australia to France
Incumbent Lynette Wood since 13 December 2024
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style	Her Excellency
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	Colonel William Hodgson OBE
Formation	11 March 1945
Website	Australian Embassy, France

Gillian Bird PSM was appointed ambassador in November 2020. France and Australia have had official diplomatic relations since Australia opened its Legation in Paris in 1945.^[4] The Legation was upgraded to Embassy status in 1948, when Colonel William Hodgson, who served as Minister to France, was appointed as Ambassador.^[5]

List of officeholders

The first official representative of Australia in France was Clive H. Voss, who was appointed as a commercial agent in Paris in 1919. His appointment was made on the personal initiative of Prime Minister Billy Hughes, in line with his attempts to establish a system of trade commissioners.^[6] Voss established an office in the premises of the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris and was subordinate to the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.^[7] Despite criticism of his effectiveness, he remained in the position until the Fall of France in 1940 and "helped establish the idea of a distinct Australian official representation in France as a norm".^[8]

Minister and ambassadors to France

Ordinal	Officeholder	Title	Other offices	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	Colonel William Hodgson OBE	Minister to France		11 March 1945 (1945-03-11)	1948 (1948)	4 years, 7 months	[9][10][11]
		Ambassador of Australia to France		1948 (1948)	November 1949 (1949-11)
2	Sir Keith Officer OBE, MC	Ambassador of Australia to France		18 April 1950 (1950-04-18)	1955 (1955)	4–5 years	[12]
3	Alfred Stirling CBE			1955 (1955)	1959 (1959)	3–4 years	[13]
4	Sir Edward Ronald Walker CBE			1969 (1969)	1968 (1968)	8–9 years
5	Alan Renouf OBE		C	1969 (1969)	1973 (1973)	3–4 years	[14]
6	Harold David Anderson		C	1973 (1973)	1978 (1978)	4–5 years	[15]
7	John Rowland AO		E	1978 (1978)	1982 (1982)	3–4 years	[16]
8	Peter Curtis		E	1982 (1982)	1987 (1987)	4–5 years	[17]
9	Ted Pocock AM		CE	1987 (1987)	1991 (1991)	3–4 years
10	Clive Jones		AE	1991 (1991)	1993 (1993)	1–2 years	[18]
11	Alan Brown		ACE	1993 (1993)	1996 (1996)	2–3 years
12	John Spender KC		AE	1996 (1996)	2000 (2000)	3–4 years	[19]
13	Bill Fisher		BE	2000 (2000)	2005 (2005)	4–5 years	[20]
14	Penny Wensley AO		BDE	2005 (2005)	2008 (2008)	2–3 years	[21]
15	David Ritchie AO		BD	2008 (2008)	2011 (2011)	2–3 years	[22]
16	Ric Wells		BD	2011 (2011)	2014 (2014)	2–3 years	[23]
17	Stephen Brady AO, CVO		ABD	31 March 2014 (2014-03-31)	21 July 2017 (2017-07-21)	3 years, 112 days	[24]
18	Brendan Berne		ABD	21 July 2017 (2017-07-21)	October 2020 (2020-10)	3 years, 2 months	[25]
19	Gillian Bird PSM		ABD	5 November 2020 (2020-11-05)	12 December 2024 (2024-12-12)	4 years, 37 days	[26][27]
20	Lynette Wood		ABD	13 December 2024 (2024-12-13)	incumbent	228 days

Ambassadors to Algeria

Main article: List of ambassadors of Australia to Algeria

Notes

A.^ Also non-resident Ambassador to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, 1991–2000, 2014–present.

B.^ Also non-resident Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, 2001–present.

C.^ Also Permanent Delegate of Australia to UNESCO, October 1972–August 1975, October 1976–August 1978, January 1988–September 1990, and March 1994–September 1996.

D.^ Also non-resident Ambassador to the Principality of Monaco, 3 May 2007–present.

E.^ Also non-resident Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, 1978–2007.

See also

• France–Australia relations
• Australia–Morocco relations
• Foreign relations of Australia