Former prime minister Kevin Rudd drew the ire of Donald Trump this week.
It came after high-profile British conservative Nigel Farage asked the former United States president to respond to criticism levelled against him by Rudd, .
Trump, , hit back, labelling Rudd “a little bit nasty” and “not the brightest bulb”, drawing a defence from the Australian government .
But what do ambassadors actually do?
Firstly, how did Australia respond to Trump’s Rudd roast?
Foreign Minister Penny Wong jumped to Rudd’s defence, saying he was doing an “excellent job” and had “been active in engaging with members of Congress on both sides of politics”.
The comments sparked a political firestorm in Australia, with Opposition politicians warning that if Trump returns to the presidency in November his hostile stance could harm diplomatic relations.
Before becoming Australian ambassador to the US, .
George Brandis — an ex-Liberal senator and Australia’s former high commissioner to the United Kingdom — cautioned against “over-interpreting” Trump’s comments, noting he “barely seemed to know who [Rudd] was”.
“I think it’s very important that Australia’s senior diplomatic representatives, whether they be career diplomats or political appointees, should have bipartisan support,” Brandis told ABC radio on Thursday.
“If they don’t, it diminishes their authority, and therefore diminishes their influence in the country to which they are accredited, and that’s plainly not in Australia’s national interest.”
What is an ambassador?
Ambassadors head up embassies, which are representative offices of one country in the capital city of another. High commissioners head up high commissions, which is the name given to embassies in Commonwealth countries.
Consuls-general head up consulates, which are lower-level representative offices, usually located in a city outside the capital city. For example, in Indonesia, Australia has an embassy in Jakarta and a consulate-general in Bali.
Some countries have no Australian representation directly but may share an Australian embassy, high commission or consulate with an adjoining country.
In Rudd’s case, his X (formerly Twitter) account suggests he’s busy in Washington, networking with senators and governors on both sides of the political spectrum and leaders and organisations in science, arts and technology.
How are they appointed?
There is no set procedure when it comes to ambassador recruitment, nor is the candidate pool made public. Typically, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) seeks expressions of interest, from which the department’s secretary makes recommendations to the foreign minister. But ultimately, the government of the day can choose whoever it likes.
Some ambassadors and high commissioners are former politicians and advisers, others are those who have worked up through the diplomatic service.
What do they get paid?
The salary range is from $137,833 to $300,974, with what they receive dependent on where they are posted.
Senior assistant secretaries and deputy secretaries will be on higher wages, while all ambassadors and high commissioners are also given entertainment allowances that they must account for to build relationships.
What do ambassadors do?
“Ultimately, the ambassador is the figurehead, the audible and visible presence of the sending state,” explains Peter Tesch, who was the Australian ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2016 to 2019 and before that in Germany from 2009 to 2013.
“At the core, the tasks for Australian diplomats are to know and understand what is going on, to understand why it’s relevant and matters to Australia, and to be able to provide guidance and insight into what we should do about it. So the ambassador is the chief explainer in both directions.”
This means establishing key connections in that country that may be useful to Australia, and assisting the government in that country to help establish Australia’s influence.
Signage outside Australia’s embassy in Tel Aviv. Source: AAP / Abir Sultan
Another increasingly important role for ambassadors has been consular support when Australians find themselves in difficulty overseas.
“If an Australian gets into serious trouble in a country, an ambassador gets kudos if the issue is resolved quickly,” says Ian Parmeter, who was Australia’s ambassador to Lebanon between 1996 and 1999.
In a country’s election year, the ambassador has the role of establishing a relationship on both sides of the political spectrum to ensure a seamless transition for the Australian government regardless of the outcome, he added.
With , Parmeter said Rudd and Australia’s High Commissioner in London Stephen Smith, who formerly served as minister for foreign affairs and defence, will be busy.
“The High Commissioner in London will be making close contact right now with the opposition, while our embassy in Washington will be doing exactly the same thing at this stage, looking to develop contacts on both sides of politics in case there’s a change of president,” he said.
Former Australian defence minister Stephen Smith is Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK. Source: AAP
What does an ambassador’s working day actually look like?
Every day is different, Parmeter said.
The first task of an ambassador is to check messages that may have come in overnight from DFAT or other government agencies, which may indicate the priorities of the day.
Another is staying on top of local issues and opinion by scanning the country’s daily newspapers. All ambassadors and high commissioners are offered language training if needed.
Being a competent Russian speaker, Tesch would often do talk-back radio interviews during his time in Moscow.
“I would get questions in from all over the country,” he said.
“Once I was asked why we were about to try to kill . I tried to communicate why quarantine is so significant in an island nation like Australia.”
What about when the two countries have a difficult relationship?
Tesch said his time as ambassador to Russia was challenging because Australia disagreed at the time with its policies, which included Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its actions in Ukraine’s Donbas region, and the shooting down of flight MH17.
“They saw Australia as a hostile state,” he said. “This coloured the willingness of both governments to engage.
“It was always a question of being clear about what our agenda and policy interests were and being focused on where I needed and could best apply my energies to.”
But Tesch admitted the experience was at times “frustrating”.
A man stands outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. Source: AFP / Bay Ismoyo
What are the best and worst parts of the job?
Parmeter said he enjoyed his time as ambassador in Beirut.
“I found it really extremely stimulating, seeing where Australia’s interests were developing.”
But he said constant networking required at receptions can mean “you’re on deck from about eight in the morning through to at least eight o’clock at night”.
Tesch found the constant obligations and expectations “tiring”, adding they can impose “quite a cost on people’s personal and family lives”.
But he said the demands of the job were balanced out by the special moments, and diving into life in Moscow.
“I loved the intellectual stimulation of it. The thoughtfulness of the conversations and the friendship, loyalty and the sense of humour of the Russians was a constant joy. I really, really loved that.”
