Peter Hermes (8 August 1922 – 14 October 2015) was a German diplomat, best known for serving as West German Ambassador to the United States from 1979 to 1984 and West German Ambassador to the Holy See from 1984 to 1987.

Early life and military service

Hermes was born 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 ...

, as the son of agricultural scientist and politician

Andreas Hermes Andreas Hermes (16 July 1878 – 4 January 1964) was a German agricultural scientist and politician. In the Weimar Republic, he was a member of several governments, serving as minister of food/nutrition and minister of finance for the Catholic Z ...

. He was drafted in 1941, and served in a penal battalion in 1944. He was captured by the Soviets. His father founded the CDU in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...

, but left in 1945. Peter Hermes left

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

in 1950.

Diplomatic career

Beginning in 1953, he was trade negotiator for the Foreign Office, and Head of the Department of Foreign Trade and Development, and European economic integration. He completed a doctorate degree in law. In 1955, he joined the Diplomatic Service. He eventually became Secretary of State at the Foreign Office from 1975 to 1979. He was Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, from 1979 to 1984. He was Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Vatican, from August 1984 to 1987. After retirement, he became a member of the Commission for Contemporary History Association, and deputy chairman of the Association of the German Archaeological Institute. He is an honorary member of the German Archaeological Institute.

References

External links

Article on Hermes on the ''Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung'' website (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermes, Paul 1922 births Ambassadors of Germany to the United States 2015 deaths German military personnel of World War II Ambassadors of Germany to the Holy See Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany