The White House listed Caroline Kennedy amongst eight recommended appointments for key diplomatic and agency postings.

Kennedy said she was gracious for the part Australian and Solomon Island coast watchers played in rescuing her father from a sunk torpedo boat in this Pacific during War War II and would work to repay this debt.

“I look forward to collaborating with the government of Australia to strengthen our alliance, improve global health and increase vaccine access during this terrible pandemic and to address the urgent climate crisis,” she said in a statement.

“I am excited to get to know the Australian people, learn about their fascinating country and share with them what I love most about America.”

Kennedy previously acted as the US ambassador to Japan between 2013 and 2017 and was awarded the country’s highest honour for foreigners – the Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun – in November 2021.

Her appointment will need to be confirmed by the US Senate.

It comes just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Marise Payne discussed the lag in the appointment of Australia’s ambassador, with the two agreeing there needed to be a US Senate-confirmed ambassador “as soon as possible in light of the scope and scale of shared challenges we face”.

Blinken recently called on the Senate to expedite its approval of Mr Biden’s ambassador nominations for the sake of national security.