Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has announced that Jenny Bloomfield is to be Australia’s new Ambassador to Greece, with non-resident accreditation to Albania and Bulgaria.

She will replace Mr Jeremy Newman who has been Ambassador in Athens since 2008. She will be the first female Australian Ambassador to Greece and the first of Greek ancestry.

Born in Thessaloniki, Bloomfield (nee Siourthas) is a native Greek speaker who migrated with her family to Australia as a child. She is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and until recently was Assistant Secretary, Middle East Branch.

The Ambassador-designate to Greece has previously served overseas in Japan and Iran. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University, a Bachelor of Letters in Political Science and French, and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Bachelor of Arts in Modern Greek from the University of Melbourne.Married with four children, Ms Bloomfield will take up her appointment next month.

A DFAT spokesperson told Neos Kosmos that on July 25 and 26 the Ambassador Designate to Greece will visit Melbourne, “where she will meet Victorian Government representatives, members of parliament, and representatives of the Greek community… to further strengthen the close Australia-Greece relationship across all fields.”

The discussions in Melbourne are likley to make reference to the recent dialogue between GOCMV (Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria) and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, regarding Australian migration intake from Greece.