List of ambassadors of Australia to Ukraine


The Ambassador of Australia to Ukraine is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Embassy of the Commonwealth of Australia to Ukraine. The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and is currently held by Melissa O'Rourke since 30 May 2017. The embassy is currently based with the Canadian Embassy in Kiev.

History of relations

and Australia have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1942 when Australia opened channels with the Soviet Union, although independent relations did not occur until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the establishment of a fully independent Ukraine in late 1991. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, Australia acted to recognise the new states of the Commonwealth of Independent States on 26 December 1991. Non-resident accreditation to Ukraine, based with the Australian Embassy in Moscow, was later established from 10 January 1992, with the Australian Ambassador in Moscow, Cavan Hogue, presenting his credentials to the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk on 9 March 1992. Accreditation was transferred to the new interim embassy established in Kiev in November 2014 following the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. From 5 November 1992 to the opening of a resident embassy in 2014, Australia maintained a Consulate in Kiev headed by an Honorary Consul, Dr Serhiy Nikolaevich Berezovenko.
The first resident ambassador, Doug Trappett, who was previously Deputy Head of Mission in Rome, had been sent to Kiev in December 2014 to deal with matters relating to the controversial downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which led to the deaths of 27 Australian citizens. Trappett presented his credentials on 14 January 2015.
Although initially considered an interim measure for 12 months, pending the resolution of the conflicts in the region, with the stalemating of various issues and the hardening of Ukrainian-Russian relations, the embassy's term of existence was extended in February 2016 to September 2016. In September 2016, the decision was taken by foreign minister Julie Bishop to extend the embassy's term for a further two years with a resident diplomatic presence noting that it would allow Australia: "to work alongside their Ukrainian partners in close cooperation and further develop bilateral ties between the two countries."

Office-holders

Ambassadors resident in Moscow

Ambassadors resident in Vienna

Ambassadors resident in Warsaw

Ambassadors resident in Kiev