Johann Karl Emil Eduard Haber (1 October 1866 – 14 January 1947) was a German mining engineer, civil servant and diplomat, who served as the last Governor of German New Guinea.

Early life

Haber was born on 1 October 1866 in

Mechernich Mechernich (, ksh, Meischernisch) is a town in the district of Euskirchen in the south of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the "Naturpark Nordeifel" in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south-west of Euskirchen a ...

, in the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. After 1884 in Brilon, Eduard Haber studying the Bergfach from 1885 to 1888 at the universities of

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

. After finishing his studies in 1888, Haber was first the Bergreferendar, and from 1893 an assessor at the Oberbergamt Bonn. After a tour in 1889, which led him to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, he became a teacher at the Bergakademie Berlin (''Prussian Mining Academy''). In 1896 he traveled on behalf of the

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. After his return, Haber was S hut (Silesia), appointed to the Deputy Inspector of the hut in 1900 at the lodge Office and in the same year in the Imperial colonial service of Foreign Ministry . In 1901 his use as mountain official at the governorate was Dar es Salaam in

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

. In 1903, Haber, who previously had been appointed in the year to the Governing Council, was appointed as the first speakers of the province and promoted to the Privy Council in 1906. In 1907, Haber became lecturer Council in the Imperial Colonial Office to Berlin and received his appointment to the secret Oberregierungsrat in 1910. In 1913, Haber was appointed as the Deputy-Governor of

German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...

(DNG). Due to being granted leave for illness, Governor

Albert Hahl Dr. Albert Hahl (1868, Gern - 1945) was a German colonial administrator. In 1897, he was acting Landeshauptmann of the German New Guinea Company and from 1902 to December 1917, was Governor of German New Guinea. In 1903 he founded the town of R ...

departed for Germany on 22 January 1914 and Haber was appointed provisional Governor in

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

World War I

Haber learned of the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

while in Morobe. Returning to Rabaul on 14 August, he organized an armed resistance force of about 50 settlers and 250 locals, but was defeated by an overwhelming

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

force at the

Siege of Toma The siege of Toma was a bloodless action during the First World War on the island of New Pomerania (now New Britain) between 14 and 17 September 1914 as part of the occupation of German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expedition ...

. After surrendering on 17 September, Haber made an oath of neutrality. Together with 11 other German prisoners of war, he was brought to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on the captured steamer SMS ''Komet'' and interned on 29 October in a camp at

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Cor ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. On 15 January 1915, together with his secretary, he was deported to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

aboard the SS ''Sonoma'', from where he finally was able to return to Germany. In

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, he continued as the Acting-Governor of German New Guinea and was officially appointed Governor on 14 December 1917, as Hahl was declared unfit by

Wilhelm Solf Wilhelm Heinrich Solf (5 October 1862 – 6 February 1936) was a German scholar, diplomat, jurist and statesman. Early life Solf was born into a wealthy and liberal family in Berlin. He attended secondary schools in Anklam, western Pomerania, an ...

, the Imperial Colonial Secretary. This appointment resulting in Haber becoming the last

Governor of German New Guinea This article lists the colonial governors of Papua New Guinea, from the establishment of German New Guinea in 1884 until the independence of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1975. List (Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continua ...

. Both

Emperor Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empi ...

and

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. ...

believed that the continuation of a Governorship during the war was a hasty and badly conceived decision, as the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

colony would play no further role for Germany.

Life after the war

At peace talks to the C Mandates of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

, Haber was appointed as the second member of the German delegation in May 1919. He later resigned due to the hopelessness of his work in negotiations and took over the Coal Management Institute in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

. In 1920, Haber was appointed President of the Imperial Pay Board. After leaving the Imperial service in 1923, he assumed a teaching position at the Bergakademie Clausthal and received an Honorary Professorship in 1924, remaining there until 1927. Between 1928 and 1945, Haber taught at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

as mandated lecturer for international colonial science and the resource sector. Although never receiving a doctorate, he was often titled "Dr". His request to be granted an honorary doctorate was rejected and he had to be satisfied with a conferred honorary citizenship in 1936.Biographisches Handbuch,..., S 123: Prof. Dr. Bacher, Berlin, writing of PG citing. He died on 14 January 1947 at

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

. In 1936 the city honoured him with the naming of a street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haber, Eduard 1866 births 1947 deaths People from Euskirchen (district) People from the Rhine Province Colonial people of German East Africa Colonial people of German New Guinea History of Papua New Guinea German prisoners of war in World War I University of Tübingen faculty Technical University of Berlin faculty