Paul von Buri

Paul Friedrich Christian von Buri (1 June 1860 – 7 August 1922) was a German diplomat who served as the Consul-General for Australia and in Shanghai.

Paul von Buri
Consul-General of Germany for Australia
In office 13 April 1901 – 9 August 1906
Preceded by	Peter Kempermann
Succeeded by	Georg Irmer
Consul-General of Germany in Shanghai
In office 9 August 1906 – February 1913
Preceded by	Wilhelm Knappe
Succeeded by	Hubert Knipping
German Minister to Siam
In office February 1913 – 22 July 1917
Preceded by	Konrad von der Goltz
Succeeded by	Relations suspended
Personal details
Born	1 June 1860 Gießen, Grand Duchy of Hesse
Died	7 August 1922 (aged 62) Seeheim, Hesse, Germany
Spouse(s)	Charlotte von Bomhard
Parents	Maximilian von Buri Marie von Ernest

Early life and background

Born in Gießen in the Grand Duchy of Hesse on 1 June 1860, von Buri was born into a prominent Hessian noble family, which had been ennobled (granting the title 'von') by the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, Louis VIII, in 1753. His father, Maximilian von Buri (1825–1902), was a jurist who served as a judge of the Reichsgericht from 1879 to 1896 and his great grandfather Ludwig von Buri (1746–1806) was a childhood friend of Goethe.[1] On 14 March 1896 in Leipzig, von Buri married Charlotte von Bomhard (1871–1964), of a prominent Bavarian noble family and daughter of President of the Senate of the Reichsgericht, Ernst von Bomhard.[2] Buri received his education at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, the Universität Straßburg and Leipzig University.[3]

Diplomatic career

Buri started his civil service career in 1881 in the Reichskolonialamt ('Imperial Colonial Office') serving as a councillor and was appointed Resident Commissioner in the Marshall Islands protectorate, as a part of the German New Guinea. Buri carried on the negotiations which resulted in the Tripartite Convention of 1899 which decided the question of the Samoan Islands, dividing the island group between Germany and the United States.[4]

Joining the Imperial Foreign Office in 1886, Buri commenced his diplomatic career abroad as Vice-Consul in the British Protectorate of Zanzibar in 1889. Thereafter he served as German Consul to the Cape Colony in Cape Town and the Transvaal Colony in Pretoria. In 1895 he was appointed a counsellor based in the Foreign Office in Berlin. From 1900 he was appointed Consul-General in Basel, Switzerland.[3] At age 40, in April 1901 Buri was appointed Consul-General of Germany for Australia based in Sydney, with responsibility for New Zealand and Fiji.[5] With his arrival coinciding with the beginning of Australian Federation, Buri was the representative of Kaiser Wilhelm II at the occasion of the first opening of the Parliament of Australia in Melbourne on 9 May 1901.[6] In August 1906 Buri was appointed German Consul-General in Shanghai, with responsibility for German nationals in the International Settlement as an extraterritorial power, and in surrounding areas, arriving in October 1906.[7]

In February 1913, Buri was appointed German Minister to Siam, serving until 1917 when Siam entered the First World War on the Allied side.[3] Buri retired on his return to Germany and died age 62 on 7 August 1922 in Seeheim, Hesse.

Honours

• Knight, Fourth Class, of the Order of the Red Eagle (Kingdom of Prussia)[3]
• Order of the Crown, 3rd Class (Kingdom of Prussia)[3]
• Knight of the House Order of the Wendish Crown (Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)[3]
• Commander of the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar (Sultanate of Zanzibar)[3]
• Order of the Double Dragon, Second Class, Third Grade (Qing Dynasty)[3]

References

1. Paul Wentzcke, Buri, Christian Karl Friedrich Ludwig von. In New German Biography (NDB). Vol. 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2, S. 51 (digitized).
2. "Buri, Paul von". Hessische Biografie. Landesgeschictliches Informationssystem. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
3. 'MR. VON BURI.', The Straits Times, 25 February 1913, p. 10. http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19130225-1.2.74.aspx
4. "PERSONAL". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 29 January 1907. p. 6. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
5. "GERMAN CONSUL-GENERAL FOR AUSTRALASIA". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 15 April 1901. p. 7. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
6. "GERMANY AND AUSTRALIA". The Age. Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 15 April 1901. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
7. "PERSONAL". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 10 August 1906. p. 6. Retrieved 20 November 2015.