Former prime minister Kevin Rudd will serve as Australia’s next ambassador to the United States, a move the Albanian government hopes will provide Australia with enviable access to the most influential figures in Washington.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Rudd’s appointment on Tuesday at a press conference with Foreign Minister Penny Wong ahead of his departure to Beijing for a highly anticipated meeting with China’s foreign minister.
Announcing the appointment, Albanese said that Rudd “brings unmatched experience to the role. He has been prime minister, foreign minister, held important academic roles and worked extensively in the United States.
Asked about Rudd’s suitability for the role considering some of the former prime minister’s colleagues have harshly criticized his management style while in office, Albanese said Rudd “will conduct himself in a way that gives great credit to Australia. Kevin Rudd will be seen in the United States as a very important appointment . I appointed a former prime minister.”
Rudd said he was “deeply honored” by the appointment, saying in a statement: “Australia is now facing its most challenging security and diplomatic environment for decades.
“Our national interests continue to be served, as it has been for decades, by the deepest and most effective strategic engagement of the United States in the region.”
Kevin Rudd will take over as Australia’s ambassador to the United States.Credit:Bloomberg
Rudd said he had lived in the US for the past decade and said he had developed “close personal relationships with American business, civil society and the media” as well as Democratic and Republican politicians.
Albanese also announced Heather Ridout, former chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, as the new consul general, based in New York, the first woman appointed to the role.
Rudd, now head of the Asia Society think tank, will replace former Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos, whose three-year term expires in February.
The Washington post is regarded as the most prestigious role in Australia’s diplomatic service and is usually given to former senior politicians from the ruling party rather than career public servants.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Albanese and Rudd are allies in parliament and have remained close since Rudd’s retirement from politics.
Albanese supported Rudd during his bitter leadership battle with Julia Gillard and Rudd promoted Albanese to deputy prime minister when he regained the Labor leadership in 2013.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported in October that former foreign minister Bob Carr was a senior Labor figure calling for Rudd to be appointed to the role.
Carr, who was foreign minister from 2012 to 2013, said Rudd’s expertise on China would make him sought after in the US capital among Republicans and Democrats.
Heather Ridout will be the new consul general, based in New York.Credit: Louise Kennerley
“No one else we could nominate would have the clout, the access, the knowledge of the issues, the gravitas,” Carr said.
“There is nothing else that America would consider of such intellectual value.
“It will give us a status and cachet in Washington that no other former politician or bureaucrat can bring.”
However, some figures in Labor and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade expressed concern that Rudd’s celebrity status and strong opinions could make him a risky appointment.
Rudd was recently awarded a Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University after writing a 420-page thesis on Xi Jinping’s worldview, and he regularly appears in US media as an expert on China.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said: “In appointing former prime minister Rudd, Prime Minister Albanese personally chose friends and confidants, former parliamentary colleagues and ministers, and others in whom Mr Albanese clearly has faith and trust.”
Birmingham said driving home the AUKUS pact “will require unqualified support and the ambassador’s attention”.
Speculation about Rudd’s possible appointment has increased since Wong named former defense minister Stephen Smith as the country’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in September.
Smith has been seen as a likely contender for the Washington role.
At the time, Wong said he wanted to depoliticize the diplomatic service but added: “In the circumstances, there is also a clear advantage for Australia to be represented by people who have had distinguished careers beyond public service such as business people and ex-MPs.”
Stanley Bruce, Australia’s eighth prime minister, went on to become High Commissioner to the UK after his time in parliament ended.
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