Sir Joseph Addison

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

(1879 – 24 November 1953) was British ambassador to the Baltic States, and to Czechoslovakia during the rise of Nazi Germany.

Career

Joseph Addison, son of

John Edmund Wentworth Addison John Edmund Wentworth Addison (5 November 1838 – 22 April 1907) was a British judge and Conservative politician. Early life Addison was born in 1838 in Bruges, Belgium and was the third son of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Robert Addison and his ...

, was educated in France and at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. He entered 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 ...

(FO) in 1903 and was assistant secretary at the Second Hague Conference in 1907 before being posted to

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

1908–10. He was

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to the

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a vacant junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affair ...

(

Thomas McKinnon Wood Thomas McKinnon Wood Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (26 January 1855 – 26 March 1927) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. Regarded as a liberal with "sound Progressive credentials," he served as a member of H ...

then

Francis Dyke Acland Sir Francis Dyke Acland, 14th Baronet, (7 March 1874 – 9 June 1939) was a British Liberal politician. He notably served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under Sir Edward Grey between 1911 and 1915. Ideologically, he was an ad ...

) 1911–13. He resigned from the FO in 1913 but rejoined and served in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

1916–20 before being appointed Counsellor at

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 ...

1920–27, serving 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 ...

at various times. :So well did he carry out his duties during the particularly difficult period of the aftermath of the 1914–18 War, when political conditions in Germany were in a state of flux, that he was clearly marked out for promotion.
– ''The Times'', 27 November 1953 Addison was appointed Minister to

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

in 1927 and transferred to be Minister to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

in 1930. ''The Times'' obituary said "For the next six years he held this important position and did much to foster good relations with the Czechoslovak government, especially after the seizure of power by the Nazis in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1933." However, a historian of the period claims that Addison "made virtually no attempt to conceal his contempt for his hosts" and was "very much responsible for cultivating a negative view of the Czechs and their country in British official circles" and that he "disliked

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 1945 ...

zech Foreign Minister, later Presidentwith considerable passion and took delight in embarrassing him in his reports from Prague." Addison's contempt extended to the Baltic States, which he claimed was "a part of Europe that has no claim to civilization." In 1936 Addison was appointed

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 ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, but he did not proceed there and after a few months decided instead to retire. Addison's obituary in ''The Times'' has been quoted above. A few days after its publication, ''The Times'' also published two tributes including one from Sir William Seeds who wrote: :His fundamental common sense and his logical intelligence, joined to the social gifts which endeared him to many European figures, such as the younger Masaryk, would surely have brought him to high office but for his decision, on private grounds, to resign prematurely from the service. Addison was appointed CMG in the

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 ...

of 1924 while he was serving in Berlin, and knighted KCMG in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

of 1933.Supplement to the London Gazette, 3 June 1933
/ref>

References

ADDISON, Sir Joseph
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012
Sir Joseph Addison: Diplomatist In Central Europe
''The Times'', London, 27 November 1953, page 10

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Addison, Joseph 1879 births 1953 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Latvia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Lithuania Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Estonia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Czechoslovakia Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George