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Australian Consul-General in Houston
Incumbent
Benson Saulo
since January 2021
Residence Houston
Formation1982
Website Australian Consulate-General, Houston

The Australian Consul-General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner in Houston represents the Australian Government in Houston, Texas. Although it is run and managed by Austrade, the Consulate-General carries out visiting and reporting responsibilities on behalf of the Australian Ambassador in Washington for Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. [1]

It is in suite 1310 of 3009 Post Oak Boulevard in Uptown Houston. [2]

Consulate history

On 11 February 1982, Deputy Prime Minister Doug Anthony announced the opening of a new consulate-general jointly managed by DFAT and Austrade in Houston, Texas, thereby becoming the fifth Australian consulate-general in the United States. [3] In 1993, the posting was fully transferred to Austrade management and was closed on 31 December 1996 due to financial constraints and a restructuring of resources to the Austrade consulates in Atlanta and Los Angeles. [4] [5] Following the closure, the Australian Government appointed an Honorary Consul in Houston, Nana Booker, who served from 1999 until 2015. In 2005 Booker was appointed as an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her continued service as honorary consul. [6]

The consulate-general was reopened in March 2015 to seek major trade opportunities for Australian companies and foster closer education and research links. [7] [8] The opening had previously been flagged in media in June 2014. [9] After its reopening the Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Minister, Steven Ciobo, praised former honorary consul (and now Honorary Consul Emeritus) Booker's work: "The Australian Government is highly appreciative of the good work done by the Honorary Consul, Ms Nana Booker, over the years. The opening of the Consulate General is solid proof of the importance of her work and of our high regard for it." [10]

Consuls-General

Name Start of term End of term References
E. J. L. Ride November 1982 1986 [11]
Bob Whitty 1986 1989 [12] [13]
Peter Urban 1989 1994 [14]
G. McHugh 1994 31 December 1996 [15]
Posting closed
Nana Booker AM (Honorary Consul) 1999 2015
Alastair Walton November 2015 23 June 2017 [16] [17]
Peter McGauran 26 January 2018 December 2020 [18]
Benson Saulo January 2021 incumbent [19]

References

  1. ^ Australian Consulate-General - Houston, Australian Government, archived from the original on 3 March 2016
  2. ^ "[ https://usa.embassy.gov.au/houston Australian Consulate-General Houston]." Embassy of Australia United States of America. Retrieved on July 14, 2021. "3009 Post Oak Blvd Suite 1310 Houston TX 77056"
  3. ^ "Opening of consulate - General, Houston" (Media Release). ParlInfo. Parliament of Australia. 11 February 1982. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  4. ^ "ParlInfo - QUESTIONS ON NOTICE: Australian Consulate-General: Chicago" (House Hansard). Parliament of Australia. 27 June 2001. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Helping Australians Abroad: A Review of the Australian Government's Consular Services > CHAPTER 3: AUSTRALIAN CONSULAR SERVICES > Austrade Consular Operations Overseas" (Committee Report). Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee. Parliament of Australia. May 1997. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  6. ^ "BOOKER, Nana Laurel - Member of the Order of Australia [H]". It's an Honour database. Australian Government. 19 April 2005. Retrieved 24 June 2017. For service to the Australian Government as the Honorary Consul for Houston, Texas.
  7. ^ Robb, Andrew (4 May 2015). "Houston Consulate-General open for business" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  8. ^ Kehoe, John (3 May 2015). "Austrade opens consulate general office in Houston, despite oil plunge". Australian Financial Review. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 17 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Australia to open consulate-general in Houston". SBS. 14 June 2014.
  10. ^ Ciobo, Steven (5 February 2015). "Keynote Address to the 6th Annual Australian American Chamber of Commerce Energy Conference, Houston" (Speech). Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Investment. Australian Government. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  11. ^ "VICE-REGAL". The Canberra Times. Vol. 59, no. 18, 203. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 August 1985. p. 2. Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Diplomats appointed". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 580. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 August 1986. p. 7. Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Whitty given job in West Indies". The Canberra Times. Vol. 68, no. 21, 386. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 November 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "11 Aussies caught in cult siege". The Canberra Times. Vol. 67, no. 21, 144. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 March 1993. p. 15. Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ CA 8036: Australian Consulate, Houston [United States of America], National Archives of Australia, retrieved 24 June 2017
  16. ^ Robb, Andrew (28 October 2015). "Senior Trade Appointments to Houston and San Francisco" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016.
  17. ^ Kruger, Colin (29 October 2015). "From Goldies to oil: Alastair Walton is our new Consul-General in Houston". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015.
  18. ^ Ciobo, Steven (26 January 2018). "New Consuls-General appointed to key Austrade posts" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  19. ^ Simon, Birmingham (26 June 2020). "New Consuls-General appointed to key Austrade posts" (Press release). Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Australian Government. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
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