Australian Consul-General in Houston | |
---|---|
Incumbent since January 2021Benson Saulo | |
Residence | Houston |
Formation | 1982 |
Website | Australian Consulate-General, Houston |
The Australian Consul-General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner in Houston represents the Australian Government in Houston, Texas. Although it is run and managed by Austrade, the Consulate-General carries out visiting and reporting responsibilities on behalf of the Australian Ambassador in Washington for Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. [1]
It is in suite 1310 of 3009 Post Oak Boulevard in Uptown Houston. [2]
On 11 February 1982, Deputy Prime Minister Doug Anthony announced the opening of a new consulate-general jointly managed by DFAT and Austrade in Houston, Texas, thereby becoming the fifth Australian consulate-general in the United States. [3] In 1993, the posting was fully transferred to Austrade management and was closed on 31 December 1996 due to financial constraints and a restructuring of resources to the Austrade consulates in Atlanta and Los Angeles. [4] [5] Following the closure, the Australian Government appointed an Honorary Consul in Houston, Nana Booker, who served from 1999 until 2015. In 2005 Booker was appointed as an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her continued service as honorary consul. [6]
The consulate-general was reopened in March 2015 to seek major trade opportunities for Australian companies and foster closer education and research links. [7] [8] The opening had previously been flagged in media in June 2014. [9] After its reopening the Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Minister, Steven Ciobo, praised former honorary consul (and now Honorary Consul Emeritus) Booker's work: "The Australian Government is highly appreciative of the good work done by the Honorary Consul, Ms Nana Booker, over the years. The opening of the Consulate General is solid proof of the importance of her work and of our high regard for it." [10]
Name | Start of term | End of term | References |
E. J. L. Ride | November 1982 | 1986 | [11] |
Bob Whitty | 1986 | 1989 | [12] [13] |
Peter Urban | 1989 | 1994 | [14] |
G. McHugh | 1994 | 31 December 1996 | [15] |
Posting closed | |||
Nana Booker AM (Honorary Consul) | 1999 | 2015 | |
Alastair Walton | November 2015 | 23 June 2017 | [16] [17] |
Peter McGauran | 26 January 2018 | December 2020 | [18] |
Benson Saulo | January 2021 | incumbent | [19] |
Peter John McGauran is an Australian former politician who served as a National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives. He represented the Division of Gippsland in Victoria from 5 March 1983 to 9 April 2008. He is the brother of former Senator Julian McGauran. He was born in Yallourn, Victoria, and was educated at Xavier College, Kew and the University of Melbourne. He was a barrister and solicitor before entering politics.
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Foreign relations exist between Australia and Latvia. Australia first recognised Latvia on 22 September 1921 and was among the first countries to re-recognise Latvia's independence on 27 August 1991. Both countries re-established diplomatic relations on 21 November 1991. Australia is represented in Latvia through its embassy in Stockholm, Sweden and an honorary consulate in Riga. Latvia has had an embassy in Canberra since October 2021, and also has honorary consulates in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth.
For service to the Australian Government as the Honorary Consul for Houston, Texas.