AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRIA

Today I announce the appointment of Mr Richard Sadleir as Australia’s next Ambassador to Austria.

Mr Sadleir will also be accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Kosovo, Slovakia and Slovenia, countries with which Australia has warm relations founded on community ties and a shared commitment to the rules-based international order.

Austria and Australia enjoy a strong relationship and growing economic ties. Two-way investment reached nearly $6 billion last year and two-way goods trade has almost doubled in the past decade.

Vienna is one of the four headquarters of the United Nations, and hosts organisations focused on international peace and security. These include the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Mr Sadleir will represent Australia on the IAEA Board of Governors and will prosecute Australia’s interests across this challenging multilateral agenda.

Mr Sadleir is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently First Assistant Secretary, International Security Division. He has previously served overseas in Washington and Wellington. In Canberra, he has served in a range of national and international security roles across government.

Mr Sadleir holds a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales.

I thank outgoing Ambassador Dr Brendon Hammer for his contributions to advancing Australia’s interests in Austria since 2016.