Theodor von Holleben

Theodor von Holleben studied law, economics, and history before serving in the Franco-Prussian War and entering the German Foreign Office in 1872. Assignments in China and Japan led to a decade as minister to Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He subsequently represented Germany in Tokyo and twice in Washington, first as minister and then as ambassador. ¹

In March 1874 he reported to Bismarck that he had joined other foreign representatives in pressing the Chinese government to clear the silt obstructing shipping near Shanghai. He argued that Germany should participate despite its small share of the port's steamship trade, because that share was growing. ¹

In Washington, Holleben took up German shipowners' complaints that shipping agents on the Pacific coast encouraged crews to desert and then charged heavily for replacements. He also asked whether the United States would join Britain and Germany in supporting a new settlement of Guatemala's foreign debt. Secretary of State John Hay declined any collective action that appeared coercive, while reserving equal treatment for American creditors. ^{2, 3}

Holleben also communicated Germany's position during the developing dispute with Venezuela. In 1901 he personally assured President Theodore Roosevelt that the German government sought no South American territory; Hay's reply distinguished coercive collection of claims from territorial acquisition. Holleben's second Washington appointment ended in 1903. He died in 1913. ^{4, 1}