List of ambassadors of Australia to Saudi Arabia explained

Post:	Ambassador of Australia to Saudi Arabia
Insignia:	Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
Insigniasize:	120px
Department:	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Reports To:	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent:	Mark Donovan
Residence:	Riyadh
Nominator:	Prime Minister of Australia
Style:	His Excellency
Appointer:	Governor General of Australia
Formation:	1974
Inaugural:	Ian Haig

The Ambassador of Australia to Saudi Arabia 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 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ambassador resides in Riyadh and also holds non-resident accreditation for Bahrain, Oman and Yemen. Australia appointed its first ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 1974.^[1]

Initially the embassy was located in Jeddah, and it was moved in 1984 to Riyadh, to comply with a Saudi Government policy directive. The Jeddah post remained open, as a Consulate-General.

The current ambassador, since October 2021, is Mark Donovan.

List of heads of mission

Ordinal	Officeholder	Other offices	Residency	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
			Jeddah, Saudi Arabia			align=right	years	^[2]
	Donald Kingsmill					align=right	years	^[3]
						align=right	years
	Alan Brown					years	^[4]
		Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
						align=right	years	^[5]
	Malcolm Leader					align=right	years	^[6]
	Warwick Weemaes					align=right	years	^[7]
	Philip Knight					align=right	years	^[8]
	George Aitkin					align=right	years	^[9]
	Bob Tyson					years	^[10]
	Ian Biggs					align=right	years	^[11]
	Kevin Magee					align=right	years	^[12]
	Neil Hawkins					align=right	years	^[13]
	Ralph King					align=right	years	^[14]
	Ridwaan Jadwat					align=right	years	^[15]
	Mark Donovan				incumbent	align=right		^[16] ^[17]

Notes

Also served as non-resident ambassador of Australia to the Kingdom of Bahrain, since 1996.

Also served as non-resident ambassador of Australia to the Sultanate of Oman, since 1996.

Also served as non-resident ambassador of Australia to the Republic of Yemen, from 1998 to December 2007, and since March 2015.

Also served as non-resident ambassador of Australia to the State of Kuwait, from 1998 to December 2004.

Notes and References

1. News: Ambassador. 9 February 1974. The Canberra Times. 1.
2. News: Youngest ambassador had a deep affinity for the world of Islam - and cricket. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 29 March 2014. Bruce. Debelle. https://web.archive.org/web/20150305221254/http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/youngest-ambassador-had-a-deep-affinity-for-the-world-of-islam--and-cricket-20140328-35ond.html. 5 March 2015.
3. News: Ambassador named. 11 June 1976. The Canberra Times. 8.
4. News: New Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. 12 November 1983. The Canberra Times. 3.
5. News: Saudi Arabia ambassador announced. 9 January 1988. The Canberra Times. 3.
6. News: New ambassador for Riyadh. 23 March 1991. The Canberra Times. 16.
7. News: Ambassador named. 1 September 1993. The Canberra Times. 6.
8. Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador To Saudi Arabia. https://web.archive.org/web/20140212032207/http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/1996/fa7.html. 12 February 2014. Alexander. Downer. Alexander Downer. Australian Government. 22 March 1996.
9. Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. https://web.archive.org/web/20140212025447/http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/1998/fa005_98.html. 12 February 2014. Alexander. Downer. Alexander Downer. Australian Government. 23 January 1998.
10. Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. https://web.archive.org/web/20140212023235/http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2000/fa091_2000.html. 12 February 2014. Alexander. Downer. Alexander Downer. Australian Government. 18 August 2000.
11. Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714121741/http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2004/fa140_04.html . 14 July 2014 . 14 October 2004. Alexander. Downer. Alexander Downer. Australian Government.
12. Diplomatic Appointment - Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. https://web.archive.org/web/20140317080927/http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2007/fa-s004_07.html. 17 March 2014. Stephen. Smith. Stephen Smith (Australian politician). Australian Government. 21 December 2007.
13. Diplomatic Appointment - Saudi Arabia. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714135248/http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2011/kr_mr_110714a.aspx?ministerid=2. 14 July 2014 . Kevin. Rudd. Kevin Rudd. Australian Government. 14 July 2011.
14. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403032102/http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2015/jb_mr_150316a.aspx. 3 April 2015. Julie. Bishop. Julie Bishop. Australian Government. 16 March 2015.
15. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Julie. Bishop. Australian Government. 25 May 2018. 27 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190320125742/https://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2018/jb_mr_180525.aspx?w=tb1CaGpkPX%2FlS0K%2Bg9ZKEg%3D%3D. 20 March 2019. dead.
16. Web site: 2021-06-25 . Ambassador to Saudi Arabia . 2022-07-13 . Minister for Foreign Affairs.
17. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Receives Credentials of a Number of Ambassadors of Brotherly and Friendly Countries . Saudi Press Agency . 4 October 2021 . 14 December 2022 . English .