Mr Doug Trappett will be Australia’s first resident Ambassador to Ukraine.
Mr Trappett’s appointment coincides with the first visit to Australia by a President of Ukraine. His Excellency President Petro Poroshenko is currently visiting Australia.
The Prime Minister thanked President Poroshenko for Ukraine’s support following the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in which all 298 on board died, including 38 Australians.
The appointment of Australia’s first resident Ambassador to Ukraine will facilitate continued cooperation between our two countries, including on the international investigations on MH17 currently underway.
Mr Trappett is a career officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has been Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Rome since December 2012, during which time he was deployed to Kyiv to assist in managing Australia’s response to the downing of MH17.
Mr Trappett has also served as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and as Deputy Head of Mission in Rangoon and in Apia.
As part of President Poroshenko’s visit to Canberra today, the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Peter Varghese AO, and Canada’s High Commissioner to Australia, His Excellency Mr Michael Small, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), agreeing to co-locate Australia’s interim embassy to Ukraine on the premises of the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv.
12 December 2014