Sir John Walsham, 2nd Baronet (29 October 1830 – 10 December 1905) was a British diplomat who was envoy to China and Romania.

Career

Walsham was the eldest son of Sir John James Walsham, 1st Baronet. He was educated at

Bury St Edmunds Grammar School King Edward VI School is a co-educational Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The school in its present form was created in 1972 by the merging of King Edward VI Grammar School, with the Silv ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He joined the Audit Office in March 1854 but transferred to 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 ...

that October. He served in Mexico 1857–65, including acting 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 ...

'' 1863–65. He served in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

1866–70 at a time when the Spanish forts on the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

would fire on passing merchant ships if they failed to display their national flags. Walsham was a commissioner dealing with the arbitration of claims under an agreement of 1865, such as that of the schooner ''Mermaid'', of Dartmouth, alleged to have been sunk by the fort at

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

. In 1870 Walsham moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, and in 1873 he was nominated as secretary of legation at

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 ...

but did not go there; instead he withdrew from the service because of the illness of his father, who died on 10 August 1874. Walsham, having succeeded to the baronetcy, rejoined the service in January 1875 and was posted back to Madrid, then in 1878 to Berlin, and in 1883 to Paris where he was given the rank of

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under th ...

in the absence of the Ambassador. In 1885 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of China and the King of Korea. After seven years his health deteriorated due to the heavy work and the climate, and he returned to Europe and was envoy to Romania 1892–94. He retired in 1894 and was knighted KCMG in February 1895.

References

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External links

Walsham, Sir John (1830-1905) 2nd Baronet Diplomat
UK National Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsham, John, 2nd Baronet 1830 births 1905 deaths People educated at King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Korea Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Romania Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George