Expertise in Asia-Pacific relations amid growing regional tension will leave former prime minister Kevin Rudd well placed in his new role of ambassador to the US, according to foreign policy experts.
The ex-Labor leader, who will take up the post in March, says he's honoured to be stepping up.
Dr Rudd served as Australia's 26th prime minister after being elected in 2007. He then lost the leadership in a spill in 2010 before re-taking the job in 2013, only for Labor to lose the federal election in September that year.