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
Consuls-general of the German Empire for Australia, 1879–1914 Based in Sydney, with responsibility for "Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and the Fiji-Islands". IncumbentStart of termEnd of termDr Richard Krauel18791885Gustav Travers18851887Alfred Pelldram18871897Peter Kempermann18971900Paul von Buri19001906Dr Georg Irmer19061911Richard Kiliani19111914
Consuls-general of Germany for Australia, 1923–1939 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. IncumbentStart of termEnd of termDr Hans Büsing19231932Dr Rudolf Asmis19325 September 1939
Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Germany IncumbentStart of termEnd of termDr Walther Hess9 July 1952August 1958Dr Hans MühlenfeldAugust 1958September 1962Dr Joachim RitterFebruary 1963March 1968Dr Hans SchirmerMay 1968May 1970Dr Heinz VoigtAugust 1970October 1974Dr Horst Blomeyer-BarstensteinJanuary 1975April 1980Wilhelm FabriciusAugust 1980August 1985Dr Hans SchauerAugust 1985August 1991Dr Franz KeilAugust 1991February 1994Dr Klaus ZellerFebruary 1994October 1998Dr Horst BächmannOctober 1998May 2002Dr Klaus-Peter KlaiberJuly 2002June 2005Martin LutzJuly 2005June 2008Dr Michael WitterJuly 2008August 2011Dr Christoph Müller27 September 2011June 2016Dr Anna PrinzJuly 2016July 2019Dr Thomas FitschenAugust 2019September 2022Dr Markus Ederer26 September 20222023Beate Grzeski2023
Ambassadors of the German Democratic Republic, 1972–1990 IncumbentStart of termEnd of termHans Richter22 December 19721977Dr Gerhard Lindner 24 February 19771982Joachim Elm 12 March 19821989 Ernst Kube 20 November 19893 October 1990
See also Germany–Australia relations Foreign relations of Germany
References 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.
External links
Missions of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia