List of ambassadors of Australia to Laos

Ambassador of Australia to Laos
Incumbent Paul Kelly since 5 February 2021 (2021-02-05)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Style	His Excellency
Reports to	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Residence	Vientiane
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor General of Australia
Inaugural holder	Arthur Morris
Formation	1963

The Ambassador of Australia to Laos 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 Lao People's Democratic Republic. The Ambassador resides in Vientiane. ^[1] The Australian Government first announced it would open an embassy in Vientiane in 1962. The current ambassador, since February 2021, is Paul Kelly.

List of heads of mission

Ordinal	Officeholder	Title	Term start date	Term end date	Time in office	Notes
1	David McNicol	Minister to Laos	1955 (1955)	1956 (1956)	0–1 years	[2]
2	Frederick Blakeney		1956 (1956)	1957 (1957)	0–1 years
3	Bill Forsyth	Minister to Laos	1959 (1959)	1960 (1960)	0–1 years	[3]
4	Arthur Morris		1960 (1960)	1963 (1963)	3–4 years		[4] [5]
		Ambassador of Australia to Laos	1963 (1963)	1964 (1964)
5	Barrie Dexter		1964 (1964)	1967 (1967)	2–3 years	[6]
6	John Ryan		1968 (1968)	1969 (1969)	0–1 years
7	Peter Curtis		1970 (1970)	1972 (1972)	1–2 years
8	A. H. Borthwick		1973 (1973)	1976 (1976)	2–3 years
9	J. A. Forsythe		1977 (1977)	1978 (1978)	0–1 years
10	Bruce Woodberry		1979 (1979)	1980 (1980)	0–1 years	[7]
11	Philip Peters		1981 (1981)	1985 (1985)	3–4 years	[8]
12	J. B. Campbell		1986 (1986)	1986 (1986)	0 years
13	P. A. Jackson		1987 (1987)	1990 (1990)	2–3 years
14	M. D. Mann		1991 (1991)	1994 (1994)	2–3 years
15	Roland Rich		1994 (1994)	1997 (1997)	2–3 years
16	Karina Campbell		1997 (1997)	2000 (2000)	2–3 years	[9]
17	Michael Jonathan Thwaites		2000 (2000)	2004 (2004)	3–4 years	[10]
18	Alistair Charles Maclean		2004 (2004)	2007 (2007)	2–3 years	[11]
19	Michele Forster		2007 (2007)	2011 (2011)	3–4 years	[12]
20	Lynda Worthaisong		2011 (2011)	2014 (2014)	2–3 years	[13]
21	John Williams		2014 (2014)	2018 (2018)	3–4 years	[14]
22	Jean-Bernard Carrasco		January 2018 (2018-01)	2020 (2020)	1–2 years	[15]
23	Paul Kelly		5 February 2021 (2021-02-05)	incumbent	2 years, 264 days	[16] [17]

References

1. CA 2772:Australian Embassy, Laos [Vientiane], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 25 April 2015
2. "Diplomat for Vietnam post". The Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 2 December 1954. p. 1.
3. Chad Mitcham, ‘Forsyth, William Douglass (Bill)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/forsyth-william-douglass-bill-27737, published online 2018; "Ambassador to Vietnam appointed". The Canberra Times. 2 July 1959. p. 2. The Government has raised the Australian Legation in Vietnam to the status of an Embassy and has appointed Mr. W. D. Forsyth as Australia's first Ambassador in Saigon.
4. "Minister for East". The Canberra Times. ACT. 31 December 1960. p. 3.
5. "Mr Arthur Malcolm Morris". The Canberra Times. ACT. 18 January 1963. p. 2.
6. "Appointment for Laos". The Canberra Times. ACT. 20 June 1964. p. 7.
7. "Ambassador". The Canberra Times. 2 September 1978. p. 3.
8. "Laos post". The Canberra Times. 2 June 1981. p. 3.
9. Downer, Alexander (18 June 1997). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Laos" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
10. Downer, Alexander (5 July 2000). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Laos" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
11. Downer, Alexander (21 June 2004). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Laos" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
12. Downer, Alexander (18 June 2007). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to Laos" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015.
13. Rudd, Kevin (22 December 2010). "Diplomatic Appointment – Ambassador to Laos" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015.
14. Bishop, Julie (5 November 2013). "Ambassador to Laos" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015.
15. Payne, Marise (2019). "Alex Gallacher: Australian Ambassador inquiry (Question No. 1209)". Hansard: Australian Senate . Parliament of Australia . Retrieved 15 November 2022.
16. "Ambassador to Lao PDR". 16 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
17. "Austcham Lao PDR". Facebook . 5 February 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2022.