List of Australian High Commissioners to Vanuatu

Australian High Commissioner to Vanuatu
Incumbent Sarah de Zoeten since 21 January 2020 (2020-01-21)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style	His Excellency
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Residence	Port Vila
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	Michael Ovington
Formation	July 1980 (1980-07)

The high commissioner of Australia to Vanuatu is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia in Vanuatu. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and is currently held by Sarah de Zoeten since January 2020. There has been a resident Australian high commissioner in Vanuatu since July 1980 when the New Hebrides gained independence as a republic in the Commonwealth of Nations. ^[1] Australia was the first country to establish a foreign mission in Port Vila, in 1978. ^[2]

High commissioners

#	Officeholder	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	Mike Ovington	1980 (1980)	1983 (1983)	2–3 years
2	Joan Norwood	1983 (1983)	1985 (1985)	1–2 years	[3]
3	Greg Urwin	1985 (1985)	1988 (1988)	2–3 years	[4]
4	Keith Baker	1988 (1988)	1990 (1990)	1–2 years
5	David Ambrose	1990 (1990)	1992 (1992)	1–2 years	[5]
6	Peter Shannon	1992 (1992)	1996 (1996)	3–4 years	[6]
7	Alan Edwards	1996 (1996)	1999 (1999)	2–3 years	[2]
8	Perry Head	1999 (1999)	2002 (2002)	2–3 years	[7]
9	Stephen Waters	2002 (2002)	2005 (2005)	2–3 years	[8]
10	John Pilbeam	2005 (2005)	2009 (2009)	3–4 years	[9]
11	Pablo Kang	2009 (2009)	2010 (2010)	0–1 years	[10]
12	Jeff Roach	2010 (2010)	2012 (2012)	1–2 years	[11]
13	Jeremy Bruer	2012 (2012)	2017 (2017)	4–5 years	[12]
14	Jenny Da Rin	2017 (2017)	2019 (2019)	1–2 years	[13]
15	Sarah de Zoeten	21 January 2020 (2020-01-21)	incumbent	3 years, 199 days	[14] [15]

References

1. Function on board Royal Australian Navy minehunter HMAS Huon Port Vila Harbour (PDF), Australian Government, 31 July 2010, pp. 2–3, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012
2. Evans, Gareth (13 October 1995). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner to Vanuatu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
3. "High Commissioner". The Canberra Times. 27 December 1982. p. 6.
4. "Envoy to Vanuatu". The Canberra Times. 10 January 1985. p. 10.
5. "Appointments". The Canberra Times. 27 February 1990. p. 5.
6. "Aust appoints new High Commissioner to Vanuatu". The Canberra Times. 20 September 1992. p. 4.
7. Downer, Alexander (28 August 1998). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner To Vanuatu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
8. Downer, Alexander (23 July 2001). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner To Vanuatu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
9. Downer, Alexander (17 December 2004). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner To Vanuatu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
10. Smith, Stephen (21 December 2008). "Diplomatic Appointment: High Commissioner To Vanuatu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014.
11. Rudd, Kevin (17 November 2010). "Diplomatic Appointment – High Commissioner To Vanuatu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015.
12. Carr, Bob (24 August 2012). "High Commissioner to Vanuatu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 11 February 2014.
13. Bishop, Julie (23 November 2016). "High Commissioner to Vanuatu" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016.
14. Burgess, Katie (17 December 2019). "Career diplomats clean up in end-of-year appointment spree". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
15. Massing, Adorina (22 January 2020). "New Australian High Commissioner presents credentials". Vanuatu Daily Post. Retrieved 21 December 2022.