List of ambassadors of Germany to Australia

Ambassador of Germany to Australia
Auswärtiges Amt
StyleHis Excellency
Reports toMinister for Foreign Affairs
ResidenceEmbassy of Germany, Canberra
AppointerPresident of Germany
Inaugural holderDr Walther Hess
Formation1952
WebsiteMissions of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia

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.

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

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Consuls-general of the German Empire for Australia, 1879–1914

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Based 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

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Based 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

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Incumbent 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

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Incumbent 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

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References

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  • 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.
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