List of ambassadors of Australia to the Holy See

The Australian Ambassador to the Holy See was first appointed in 1973.[1][2] The first nominee for this position was Dudley McCarthy, who was also the ambassador to Spain, but the Vatican refused to accept the nomination on the grounds that McCarthy had been divorced.[3] The appointment was subsequently attached to the office of the Ambassador to the Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey, Ireland, Malta, Sweden and Switzerland, before Tim Fischer was appointed as the first permanent resident ambassador to the Holy See in 2008.[1] In 1986, Sir Peter Lawler had been appointed resident ambassador for four months prior to Pope John Paul II's visit to Australia.[4]

Ambassador to the Holy See
Incumbent Melissa Hitchman since 5 May 2016
Style	Her Excellency
Inaugural holder	Lloyd Thomson
Formation	1973

List of heads of mission

Ambassador	Start of Term	End of Term	Notes
Lloyd Thomson	1973	1974	Ambassador to the Netherlands and Denmark.[5]
John McMillan	1974	1978	Ambassador to Turkey and later High Commissioner to Malta.[6]
John Mitchell Kirtley	1978	1979	Chargé d'affaires
Brian Clarence Hill	1979	1980
Lloyd Thomson	1980	1983	Second appointment.[7]
Sir Peter Lawler	1983	1986	Ambassador to Ireland. Resident ambassador for four months prior to Pope John Paul II's visit to Australia.[4]
Christopher Stephen Knott	1986	1987	Chargé d'affaires
Frank Milne[8]	1987	1988
Brian Burke	1988	1991	Ambassador to Ireland. Recalled in 1991 to face a royal commission and was eventually jailed.[9]
Terence McCarthy[10]	1991	1993
Michael Tate	1993	1996	Ambassador to the Netherlands
Edward Stevens	1996	1998	Ambassador to Ireland[11]
Bob Halverson	1998	2003	Ambassador to Ireland
John Herron	2003	2006	Ambassador to Ireland
Anne Plunkett	2006	2008	Ambassador to Ireland
Tim Fischer	2008	2012	First permanent resident ambassador[1]
John McCarthy	2012	2016	Second permanent resident ambassador[1][12]
Melissa Hitchman	2016	2020	[13][14]
Chiara Porro[15]	2020	-

References

1. Maiden, Samantha (22 July 2008). "Kevin Rudd parts the Holy See with Tim Fischer". The Australian. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
2. CA 8039: Australian Embassy to the Holy See, Italy [Rome], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 11 January 2016
3. "Proposed envoy not accepted". The Canberra Times. 15 May 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 2 September 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
4. Oakes, Laurie (21 July 2008). "Rudd overcome with generous spirit". Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
5. "Envoy to Holy See appointed". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 July 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
6. Overington, Caroline (22 July 2008). "Politics of the pulpit". The Australian. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
7. Address of John Paul II to Lloyd Thomson, Ambassador of Australia accredited to the Holy See
8. Address of the Holy Father John Paul II to H.E. Mr Francis Sommerville Milne, Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See
9. Ramsey, Alan (20 July 2005). "A role in the fall of a Labor mate conveniently omitted from the eulogies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
10. Address of His Holiness John Paul II to H.E. Mr Terence Barry McCarthy, the new Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See
11. Downer, Alexander (29 August 1998). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador To Ireland" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
12. Wallace, Rick (18 January 2016). "DFAT scrambles to bring home Holy See diplomat". The Australian. News Corp Australia.
13. Bishop, Julie (5 May 2016). "Ambassador to the Holy See" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016.
14. McCowen, Sharyn (10 May 2016). "Career diplomat to succeed John McCarthy as Australian ambassador to Holy See". The Catholic Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016.
15. Bowling, Mark (28 August 2020). "Meet the new Australian ambassador to the Holy See, Chiara Porro". The Catholic Leader.