The foreign secretary who led the German delegation at Brest-Litovsk
Born in Constantinople, he entered the diplomatic service in 1899; as counsellor of the London embassy he negotiated agreements with Britain on the partition of colonies and the Baghdad Railway and warned that the naval race was ruining relations between the two countries. During the war he served as counsellor in Constantinople, minister at The Hague and ambassador in Constantinople before becoming State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in August 1917. Seeking a separate peace with the Bolshevik government, he led the German delegation at Brest-Litovsk and in May 1918 also concluded the Peace of Bucharest with Romania. A Reichstag speech in June 1918 saying that the war could not be ended by arms alone drew the fury of the High Command, and he resigned in July.
Also known as: Richard von Kuehlmann
Activities and affiliations
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1899–1918
Germany state institutionsState Secretary for Foreign AffairsMain
Diplomacy and international organization
Career Timeline
- 1899Entered the diplomatic service; legation secretary at the St Petersburg embassy
- 1908–1914Counsellor of the embassy in London
- 1916.09–1917.08Ambassador in Constantinople
- 1917.08.06–1918.07.09State Secretary for Foreign Affairs; head of the German delegation at Brest-Litovsk
- 1918.05.07Concluded the Peace of Bucharest with Romania