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Secretary of the Department of Defence Greg Moriarty has been recommended to take up the role of Australia’s next ambassador to the United States of America.
The federal government has put Moriarty forward to the Governor-General for the appointment, replacing the current ambassador and former prime minister, Kevin Rudd.
Moriarty has served overseas in a number of posts, including in the headquarters of the United States Central Command in the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
He is known for his efforts in senior roles in the Australian Public Service, including Secretary of the Department of Defence since 2017.
“I have, and I’ll be recommending to the Governor-General that Greg Moriarty be Australia’s next ambassador to the United States. Mr Moriarty is, I think, an outstanding Australian public servant,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking to ABC Insiders on 25 January.
“He served as an ambassador to Iran and to Indonesia. He’s played a role in Papua New Guinea as well. He was the first appointed, the first counter-terrorism czar, if you like, in 2015.
“He’s been a former chief of staff to a Liberal prime minister. He has served both Labor and Coalition governments, and he’s been Secretary of the Department of Defence, and of course, the AUKUS relationship is central to our relationship with the United States. And he’s in a very strong position to be on top of all of that detail.
“I know Mr Moriarty very well, and I’ve been impressed by the dignified way in which he handles himself, by his connections in the United States as well. I engaged very broadly in discussions about who the right person was.
“Of course, Kevin (ambassador Rudd) will finish his period as ambassador on March 31, and I think he can look back with real pride on taking AUKUS from an idea into a reality, but also the critical minerals deals, the deals on superannuation investment in the United States and building really strong links at a leadership level between Australia and the US.”
Moriarty was ambassador to Indonesia from 2010 to 2014 and ambassador to Iran from 2005 to 2008. Earlier, he served in Papua New Guinea, and as a senior negotiator of the Peace Monitoring Group on Bougainville.
In 2015, Moriarty was appointed as Australia’s inaugural counter-terrorism coordinator in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Moriarty has held senior positions in the Office of the Prime Minister, as international and national security adviser, and later as chief of staff, to then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
At the Department of Defence, Moriarty has overseen a historic increase in the Defence budget under the Albanese government, as well as the implementation of the National Defence Strategy in response to the Defence Strategic Review.
He has also led the department, working with counterparts in the United States and the United Kingdom, in the development and implementation of AUKUS.
“You will be an amazing ambassador for Australia in the US; calm and competent, strategic and thoughtful,” said Tanya Monro, Department of Defence chief defence scientist.
“It has been an amazing privilege to work with you over the past seven years.”
