Sir Geoffrey Arnold Wallinger (2 May 1903 – 5 July 1979) was a British diplomat who was envoy to Hungary and ambassador to Thailand, Austria and Brazil. He was a signatory of the treaty that ended the occupation of Austria following World War II.

Career

Wallinger was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

(where he played cricket for the school) and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

. He joined the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

in 1926 and served at Cairo, Vienna, Pretoria and Cape Town, Buenos Aires and

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

(the capital of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

government of China) as well as at 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 ...

. Wallinger was Minister (head of mission) to Hungary 1949–51 and

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Thailand 1951–54. He was appointed Ambassador to Austria in 1954, but served as High Commissioner until Austria was released from Allied occupation; during that time he completed the negotiations of, and signed, the

Austrian Independence Treaty The Austrian State Treaty (german: Österreichischer Staatsvertrag ) or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying po ...

of May 1955. He remained in Vienna as Ambassador until 1958. He was then Ambassador to Brazil 1958–63.

Honours

Wallinger was appointed in 1947, knighted KCMG in the 1953 Coronation Honours, and awarded the additional, senior knighthood of GBE in the 1963

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

References

WALLINGER, Sir Geoffrey (Arnold)
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2015 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallinger, Geoffrey Arnold 1903 births 1979 deaths People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Hungary Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Thailand Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Austria Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Brazil Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George