![]() ![]() He was sounded out about a possible US-based position during the Turnbull government, but the timing was wrong. ![]() Smith is known to have been keen on the Washington position, having served on the board of the Perth USAsia Centre in his home city. The recent announcement of former Foreign Affairs and Defence minister Stephen Smith as the next high commissioner to London has seen the odds shorten in security circles on Rudd going to Washington. “Given how much China has become relevant to the Australia–US relationship, that would be a major plus given that he’s lived there, speaks the language and is an expert in his own right,” Fontaine says. “He’s well known, has many close relationships, is seen as an expert on the countries and issues that would be most important in the relationship, and I think is well liked by many people in Washington,” Fontaine told The Saturday Paper on Tuesday.Ī former foreign policy adviser to the late US senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Fontaine says Rudd’s superior China expertise is “of course” core to that appeal. This week, visiting American foreign policy expert Richard Fontaine, from the influential Washington think tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS), added his voice to those advocating for the former prime minister as Australia’s next chief diplomat in the United States. On qualifications alone, it is not clear whose would be higher. If the list contains more than one name, his is high up. The Saturday Paper understands the federal government has made no formal decision about who will replace incumbent Arthur Sinodinos – a former senator and chief of staff to prime minister John Howard – when his term expires in February.īut Rudd is in the mix. ![]() In the growing speculation around who will be Australia’s next ambassador to Washington, DC, one name keeps coming up: Kevin Rudd. ![]()
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