Greg Moriarty has been named as Australia’s next ambassador to the U.S.
It comes after Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced he would finish serving in the role at the end of March, a year earlier than planned.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Moriarty is “uniquely experienced to take forward the Australia-U.S. alliance.”
Here’s what to know about him.
Ambassadors
An ambassador is a country’s highest-ranked diplomat. They work out of an embassy — their home country’s main office overseas, typically in the host country’s capital city.
Ambassadors work closely with the government of the country they are posted to.
Their role is often to maintain ties and raise concerns when countries disagree.
Albanese appointed Rudd in December 2022.
Greg Moriarty
Moriarty has been Secretary of the Department of Defence since 2017. He has overseen the collaboration with the U.S. and the UK under the AUKUS security pact.
In the 1990s, he worked in defence intelligence with U.S. Central Command during the Gulf War.
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Moriarty later served as the Australian ambassador to Iran (2005–2008) and Indonesia (2010–2014).
He was also named Australia’s Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator in 2015, and has worked in peace monitoring in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
Additionally, he worked in the office of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, including as chief of staff.
He has never been an elected member of Parliament, and has served under both Labor and Coalition governments.
Comments
Albanese told the ABC he had consulted with the Trump administration about “who the right person was” for the job.
Ultimately, he said he settled on Moriarty because he had “been impressed by the dignified way he handles himself, and by his connections in the United States as well.”
The appointment has also been welcomed by U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney, who said Moriarty’s knowledge and connections in Washington would ensure “a zero learning curve” for the position.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley welcomed Moriarty’s appointment, calling him a “safe pair of hands”.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge criticised the appointment, saying Moriarty had “fail[ed] upwards”.
“Moriarty has overseen... disasters and scandals, the AUKUS debacle and recruitment fails — so next stop Washington of course,” Shoebridge said.
Moriarty has yet to publicly comment.
