List of ambassadors of Australia to the Association of South East Asian Nations

Ambassador of Australia to the Association of South East Asian Nations
Incumbent Simon Merrifield[1] since 1 October 2013
Style	His Excellency
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	Gillian Bird
Formation	5 September 2008
Website	Australian Embassy, Jakarta

The Ambassador of Australia to the Association of South East Asian Nations is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the delegation of the Commonwealth of Australia to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Australia has been in involved with ASEAN since 1974, when it became the first Dialogue Partner to ASEAN, with involvement in the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum.^[2]

The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and the present representative is the first resident Ambassador to ASEAN. However the position has existed since September 2008 when an Ambassador resident in Canberra was appointed by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith: "The decision to appoint an Ambassador to ASEAN underscores the importance Australia attaches to ASEAN and our desire to extend Australia's engagement and cooperation with ASEAN and its member nations."^[3] The ability for Dialogue partners to appoint Ambassadors to ASEAN only became possible after the completion of the new ASEAN Charter, which was signed in November 2007 and became effective in December 2008.^[3]

Ambassadors

Ambassador resident in Canberra

Name	Start of term	End of term	References
Gillian Bird	5 September 2008	1 October 2013	[4]

Ambassadors resident in Jakarta

Name	Start of term	End of term	References
Simon Merrifield	1 October 2013	present	[5]

References

1. "First resident ASEAN Ambassador". Foreign Minister of Australia. 18 September 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
2. Wood, Sally Percival (12 September 2014). "The Australia-ASEAN partnership at 40: past dilemmas and future prospects". The Conversation. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
3. "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to ASEAN" (Media Release). The Hon Stephen Smith MP - Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs. DFAT. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
4. "Diplomatic Appointment - Ambassador to ASEAN" (Media Release). The Hon Stephen Smith MP - Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs. DFAT. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
5. "Australia to forge closer relationship with ASEAN". Jakarta: ASEAN. 2 October 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.

External links

• Australian Embassy, Jakarta