Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the surprise announcement while bidding farewell to Benedict XVI today at Sydney's International Airport on Monday morning local time.

SYDNEY, Australia (Zenit) - Tim Fischer, a former Australian deputy prime minister, has been appointed the country’s first resident ambassador to the Holy See.

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the surprise announcement while bidding farewell to Benedict XVI today at Sydney's International Airport on Monday morning local time.

The Pope was in Sydney to preside at the World Youth Day celebrations, which culminated with a closing Mass on Sunday. More than 400,000 people attended the liturgy.

Fischer’s appointment marks the first time that Australia has appointed a resident ambassador since Prime Minister Gough Whitlam established diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1973.

A resident ambassador is one that lives in the country to which the representative is accredited. In recent times the Australian ambassador to Ireland has also been assigned as ambassador to the Holy See.

Prime Minister Rudd said in the announcement that the move will "enable Australia and the Holy See to be able to work together on the great challenges we face in the world."

He said such issues include "human rights -- including religious and political freedom across the world -- on poverty, on food security, on international humanitarian relief, on peace, arms control and disarmament, on the great challenge of climate change and the other great debates affecting the future of our planet."

Brilliant

Cardinal George Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, said Fischer is a “brilliant choice,” a great patriot who knows much about Australian history and literature and is an outstanding family man.

The cardinal said the new ambassador will find the global power shift from Europe to Asia a pressing issue in his position: "The balance of power is shifting to the Pacific out of Europe, and we’re on the rim of Asia."

“The Vatican is very much involved throughout Asia," he added. "The Philippines is a Catholic country and South Korea will very soon be majority Christian and the Church’s agencies throughout Asia are making enormous social contributions.”

Since retiring in 1999 after 28 years serving in Parliament, Fischer has largely kept to living on his farm in Wodonga with his wife and two sons.

Fischer admitted to us that he did not expect a diplomatic posting and took a day to discuss the decision with his wife Judy Brewer-Fischer.

He will start in his new position in January 2009, moving to Rome with his wife and sons, Harrison, 14, and Dominic, 12.

A practicing Catholic, Fischer said it was an “enormous honor” to be appointed as ambassador to the Holy See.