Defense Department boss Greg Moriarty has been appointed Australia’s next ambassador to the US, replacing former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Moriarty has led the department since late 2017 and was previously chief of staff to then Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced this in advance on Sunday Rudd’s planned departure from the role at the end of March.
“Mr Moriarty is an excellent Australian public servant,” Albanese told ABC’s Insiders programme.
‘I am impressed by the dignified way he handles himself, by his connections in the United States.
“The AUKUS relationship is central to our relationship with the United States, and he is in a very strong position to be able to monitor all those details.”
Greg Moriarty previously served as Secretary of the Department of Defense. Source: MONKEY / Mick Tsikas
Rudd, a former Labor prime minister, was appointed in 2023 but resigned a year earlier.
He endured a tumultuous period under the Trump administration, having previously been a fierce critic of the US president.
Albanese said Rudd could look back on his time as ambassador “with real pride”.
Albanese finds Trump’s comments about allied forces ‘unacceptable’
Trump recently sparked outrage after claiming that troops from NATO countries had stayed away from the front lines in Afghanistan, prompting condemnation from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other allies.
Forty-seven Australians were killed in the two-decade conflict, while 261 of the national workforce were injured before troops were withdrawn in mid-2021.
The Albanians labeled Trump’s comments as “unacceptable”, while noting that the US president had since retracted the remarks.
“The 47 Australian families who will be affected by these comments deserve our absolute respect and admiration,” he said.
“They were certainly on the front lines along with our other allies to defend democracy and freedom and to defend our national interests.”
The RSL’s national president, Peter Tinley, branded the US president’s comments as factually incorrect, historically ignorant and deeply offensive.
“I call on the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to reaffirm in the clearest terms that Australia’s service in Afghanistan was conducted with courage, professionalism and distinction,” he said.
In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump previously said he was not confident NATO would be there to support the US if and when asked.
“You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that – and they did, they stayed a little bit behind, a little bit out of the front line,” he said.
Trump posted a message on Truth Social on Sunday morning praising the “great and very brave soldiers of the United Kingdom” and saying they were “among the greatest of all warriors.”
The online message came after a discussion between Trump and Starmer about the issue on Saturday, British officials said.
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