CANBERRA - Australia's Ambassador to the United States will resign a year before the end of his term, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said here on Tuesday.

Albanese said at a press conference that former prime minister Kevin Rudd would conclude his posting as the ambassador in Washington at the end of March, 12 months before the end of his four-year term.

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Albanese said that the decision was "entirely" made by Rudd after he accepted an offer to become global president and chief executive officer of the international relations think tank the Asia Society.

"On behalf of our nation, we thank Kevin for his service to Australia," Albanese said.

Rudd, who served as Australia's prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and again in 2013, was appointed ambassador to the US by Albanese in March 2023.

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In addition to serving as the Asia Society's president, Rudd will also head its Center for China Analysis.