The ambassador of Germany to Australia is an officer of the German Foreign Office and the head of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Commonwealth of Australia. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and holds non-resident accreditation for Nauru, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The ambassador is based with the embassy in Yarralumla in Canberra but initially from 1952 to 1958 was based in Sydney.
Ambassador of Germany to Australia | |
---|---|
Auswärtiges Amt | |
Style | His Excellency |
Reports to | Minister for Foreign Affairs |
Residence | Embassy of Germany, Canberra |
Appointer | President of Germany |
Inaugural holder | Dr Walther Hess |
Formation | 1952 |
Website | Missions of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia |
The ambassador is currently Markus Ederer since September 2022, who was most recently ambassador of the European Union to Russia. Germany and Australia have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1952, although official consular representation existed in Sydney and Melbourne since 1879 and an embassy for the German Democratic Republic, with its own ambassador, also existed between 1972 and 1990. The Consulate in Sydney was also re-established in 1952 with Reinhold Renauld von Ungern-Sternberg appointed until 1956.
Officeholders
editConsuls-general of the German Empire for Australia, 1879–1914
editBased in Sydney, with responsibility for "Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and the Fiji-Islands".
Incumbent | Start of term | End of term |
---|---|---|
Dr Richard Krauel | 1879 | 1885 |
Gustav Travers | 1885 | 1887 |
Alfred Pelldram | 1887 | 1897 |
Peter Kempermann | 1897 | 1900 |
Paul von Buri | 1900 | 1906 |
Dr Georg Irmer | 1906 | 1911 |
Richard Kiliani | 1911 | 1914 |
Consuls-general of Germany for Australia, 1923–1939
editBased in Melbourne from 1923 to 1928, then moved to Sydney. Diplomatic relations were severed on 5 September 1939 and Switzerland acted as repository for German interests thereafter.
Incumbent | Start of term | End of term |
---|---|---|
Dr Hans Büsing | 1923 | 1932 |
Dr Rudolf Asmis | 1932 | 5 September 1939 |
Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Germany
editIncumbent | Start of term | End of term |
---|---|---|
Dr Walther Hess | 9 July 1952 | August 1958 |
Dr Hans Mühlenfeld | August 1958 | September 1962 |
Dr Joachim Ritter | February 1963 | March 1968 |
Dr Hans Schirmer | May 1968 | May 1970 |
Dr Heinz Voigt | August 1970 | October 1974 |
Dr Horst Blomeyer-Barstenstein | January 1975 | April 1980 |
Wilhelm Fabricius | August 1980 | August 1985 |
Dr Hans Schauer | August 1985 | August 1991 |
Dr Franz Keil | August 1991 | February 1994 |
Dr Klaus Zeller | February 1994 | October 1998 |
Dr Horst Bächmann | October 1998 | May 2002 |
Dr Klaus-Peter Klaiber | July 2002 | June 2005 |
Martin Lutz | July 2005 | June 2008 |
Dr Michael Witter | July 2008 | August 2011 |
Dr Christoph Müller | 27 September 2011 | June 2016 |
Dr Anna Prinz | July 2016 | July 2019 |
Dr Thomas Fitschen | August 2019 | September 2022 |
Dr Markus Ederer | 26 September 2022 | 2023 |
Beate Grzeski | 2023 |
Ambassadors of the German Democratic Republic, 1972–1990
editIncumbent | Start of term | End of term |
---|---|---|
Hans Richter | 22 December 1972 | 1977 |
Dr Gerhard Lindner | 24 February 1977 | 1982 |
Joachim Elm | 12 March 1982 | 1989 |
Ernst Kube | 20 November 1989 | 3 October 1990 |
See also
editReferences
edit- Tobias C. Bringmann: Handbuch der Diplomatie, 1815–1963: Auswärtige Missionschefs in Deutschland und Deutsche Missionschefs im Ausland von Metternich bis Adenauer, de Gruyter, 2001, p. 91.