Kevin Rudd has been named Australia's next ambassador to the United States, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Tuesday.

Rudd himself served twice as the prime minister of Australia, first from 2007 to 2010 and then again briefly from June 2013 to September 2013. He served as foreign minister from 2010 to 2012.

Albanese highlighted Rudd's roles as both PM and foreign minister, as well as his academic background as a China scholar and previous work in the United States. Albanese said Rudd "brings unmatched experience to the role."

"Kevin Rudd is an outstanding appointment," Albanese said at a news conference on Tuesday. "He brings a great deal of credit to Australia by agreeing to take up this position as a former prime minister, as a former foreign minister."

Mandarin speaker and China expert

Albanese said Rudd, who speaks Mandarin and is currently serving as president of the Asia Society in New York, will take up the ambassador role in early 2023.

Rudd has also written and spoken widely on relations with Beijing since he left politics in 2013. In September of this year, he completed an Oxford doctorate on the world view of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

While deeply honored to be chosen for the role, Rudd said in a statement that Australia faces its most challenging security and diplomatic environment in decades.

jsi/sms (AP, Reuters)