Next US Ambassador Will Have ‘No Simple Task’

Former Labor ministers Joel Fitzgibbon and Stephen Conroy have been floated as potential replacements for Kevin Rudd.

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during the public hearing at the Environment and Communications References Committee at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on February 19, 2021 Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Australia’s future ambassador to the United States will not have an easy gig managing a relationship with Donald Trump and then a change in president, an expert says, as leading contenders for the job emerge.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Jan. 13 Kevin Rudd has resigned as Australia’s ambassador to the US and will finish up a year early at the end of March.