The ambassador of Australia to Belgium is an officer of the Australian

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trad ...

and the head of the Embassy of the Commonwealth of Australia to the

Kingdom of Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southe ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. The position has the rank and status of an

ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and holds non-resident accreditation for

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

(since 1970). The ambassador also acts as Australia's ambassador to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU), since 1962, and ambassador to the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO) since 2012. The current ambassador is Caroline Millar since November 2021.

Posting history

Belgium and Australia have enjoyed official diplomatic relations since 1 May 1959 when Australia appointed Edwin McCarthy, ambassador to the Netherlands in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, as the non-resident ambassador to Belgium. McCarthy also served as Australia's first ambassador to the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...

, when he was appointed in March 1962, just before he left his post in the Netherlands and Belgium, until he retired in 1964. When McCarthy retired, Ralph Harry succeeded him as both ambassador to Belgium and the European Communities (became the EU in 1993). On 18 September 1970, the governments of Australia and Luxembourg announced the establishment of diplomatic relations at ambassador level, with ambassador Owen Davis receiving dual accreditation while resident in Brussels. Australia has been involved on an official level (as a 'global partner') with NATO since 2005 and the first Australian ambassador to NATO was Brendan Nelson, appointed on 20 January 2012 following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between NATO and Australia.

List of ambassadors

Ambassador to the European Communities

Notes

: Served concurrently as the Australian ambassador to the

, formerly the European Economic Community, 17 March 1964-present. : Served concurrently as the Australian ambassador to the

, 20 January 2012-present. : Served concurrently as the Australian ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ????-present.

References

External links

Australian Embassy to Belgium and Luxembourg and Mission to the European Union and NATO
{{Lists of heads of Australian diplomatic missions

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...