Joseph Maria Friedrich von Radowitz (19 May 1839 – 15 January 1912) was a German diplomat who served as acting
Foreign Secretary
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
and head of the
Foreign Office
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* Unit ...
from 6 November 1879 until 17 April 1880.
Biography
Radowitz was born in
Frankfurt am Main, the son of
Prussian statesman
Joseph von Radowitz. He joined the diplomatic service of Prussia in 1860, and was stationed in
Constantinople,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
until 1865. Upon his return to Europe, he was stationed in
Paris. During the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
, he served as
aide-de-camp to
Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
, and was subsequently attached to the Prussian
diplomatic mission in
Munich (
Kingdom of Bavaria). He became
Consul General of the
North German Confederation to
Bucharest in 1870 and a member of the
European Donau Commission
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine
European cuisine co ...
. In 1872, he was appointed as
chargé d'affaires
A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
to Constantinople, before he became Director for Oriental Affairs at the Foreign Office. He was appointed as Envoy to
Athens in 1874, but remained in Berlin. In 1875, he became acting Ambassador to
St. Petersburg, where he offered Russia German support for Russian interests in the
Balkans in exchange for Russian support for German interests in Western Europe. In 1878 he took part at the
Congress of Berlin.
After the death of
Bernhard Ernst von Bülow
Bernhard Ernst von Bülow (2 August 181520 October 1879) was a Danish and German statesman.
Early life
He was born at Cismar in Holstein, as the son of Adolf Heinrich Hartwig von Bülow (1787-1816), a Danish and German official, and his wife, C ...
, Radowitz was appointed as acting Foreign Secretary, until he was succeeded by
Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst.
He became Ambassador to Constantinople in October 1882 and Ambassador to
Madrid in 1892. He died in
Berlin.
Orders and decorations
*
Kingdom of Prussia:
[''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1903'']
p. 72
/ref>
** Landwehr Service Medal, 1st Class
** Knight of the Order of the Red Eagle, 4th Class with Swords, ''1866''; 2nd Class with Oak Leaves and Swords on Ring, ''1877''; with Star, ''5 December 1878'';Royal Order of the Crown
The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national order of the Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors.
History
The Order was established on October 15, 1897 by King Leopold II in his c ...
, 1st Class, ''18 January 1886''[''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern'' (1908), "Königliche Orden" p]
80
/ref>
* Mecklenburg: Grand Cross of the House Order of the Wendish Crown, with Golden CrownImtiaz Medal
The Imtiyaz Medal / Imtiaz Medal ( tr, İmtiyaz Madalyası) was an Ottoman military decoration, instituted in 1882. It was presented in two classes, gold and silver. The gold medal was the highest Ottoman military decoration for gallantry. When a ...
** Order of Osmanieh
The Order of Osmanieh or Order of Osmaniye ( ota, نشانِ عثمانیہ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire.
History
The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i If ...
, 1st Class in Diamonds
** Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class in Diamonds
* : Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...
Literature
*Hajo Holborn (ed.): ''Aufzeichnungen und Erinnerungen aus dem Leben des Botschafters Joseph Maria von Radowitz''. Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart/Berlin/Leipzig 1925.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radowitz, Joseph Maria
1839 births
1912 deaths
Nobility from Frankfurt am Main
Foreign Secretaries of Germany
Ambassadors of Germany to Turkey
Ambassadors of Germany to Spain
Ambassadors of Germany to Russia
Ambassadors of Germany to France
Ambassadors of Germany to Greece
Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania