In 2002 , Ritchie was appointed as '' chargé d'affaires '' at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta until a replacement for Ric Smith was appointed . Some saw David Irvine as a good replacement for Smith , given his knowledge of the Indonesian language , but Ritchie was appointed as the Ambassador of Australia to Indonesia by the Australian government to oversee the relationship between the two countries , which is seen as one of the most complex . He served in this position until 2005 , including at the time of the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing in Jakarta , and the 2005 Bali bombings . For his work at this time , Ritchie was awarded the Group Bravery Citation on 29 August 2005 and made an Officer of the Order of Australia ( AO ) on 13 June 2005 for " service to ensuring Australia 's long-term security interests in the region through efforts to gain co-operative action to address the threat of terrorism . " On 10 May 2010 , Ritchie was appointed as Ambassador of Australia to Italy , with concurrent accreditation to San Marino . He took up the post in mid-July that year , and remained in the position until November 2013
2005 Bali bombings
2005 Bali bombings
David Ritchie (diplomat)