Paul Dinichert

Dinichert on the occasion of his taking office as Swiss envoy in Berlin (1932).

Paul Dinichert (born August 4, 1878 in Muntelier , † February 14, 1954 in Geneva ) was a Swiss diplomat . Among other things, he was the Swiss envoy from 1932 to 1938 in Berlin and from 1939 to 1946 in Stockholm .

Life and activity

Dinichert was the son of Constantin Dinichert and his wife Bertha, born Kinkelin. After studying in Friborg , Neuchâtel and Paris in 1899, he joined the Swiss diplomatic service as a young man. From 1898 to 1899 he was assigned to the Swiss legation in London as an attaché. He then moved to Paris as an embassy secretary, where he stayed until 1904.

From 1904 to 1915 Dinichert worked as a secretary-adjunct at the Political Department (Foreign Ministry) in Bern. He reached an initial high point in his career when he was appointed Swiss envoy to Argentina and Uruguay in 1915, with his office in Buenos Aires . He held this post until 1917. He then worked on a special mission in Vienna until 1918 .

From 1918 to 1919 Dinichert was head of the department for the representation of foreign interests and internment at the Political Department in Bern. He then held office for twelve years, from 1920 to 1932, as head of the foreign affairs department.

In June 1932, Dinichert succeeded Hermann Rüfenacht as Swiss envoy in Berlin . In 1938 he was replaced on this post by Hans Frölicher . From 1939 to 1946 he was the Swiss envoy in Stockholm instead.

In 1946 Dinichert became chairman of the children's aid organization.

In a study of his career, Paul Widmer described Dinichert as “experienced, hardworking and productive”, he was also “perfectly bilingual” and a clear-minded man who was immune to the “occupational diseases of diplomacy”: he had nothing to do with “empty phrases” Politeness, cautiousness and cunning in scheming »held.

family

Dinichert had been married to Berthe Bivoire since 1911, with whom he had three children.

literature

• Paul Widmer : "Persona non grata" in National Socialist Germany. In: Ders .: The Swiss Legation in Berlin: History of a Difficult Diplomatic Post. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-85823-683-7 , pp. 155–194.

Web links

• Documents by and about Paul Dinichert in the database Dodis the Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland