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Discretion was once not merely the better part of diplomacy, but the whole point of it. Ambassadors were supposed to be seen on official occasions, but seldom heard, at any rate in public.

Their mission was — and still is, at least in the West — to represent their country with courtesy and tact. Some foreign ministries — notably those of China — no longer train their

ambassadors like that. They have ushered in an era of “wolf warrior diplomacy”, in which the role is much more aggressive. Wolf warrior ambassadors are not only sent abroad to lie for their

country — as cynics used to mock the profession — but to denounce and if possible silence any criticism of their regime. This bullying style has proved infectious: what was once ridiculed as

“megaphone diplomacy” is being imitated beyond Beijing. This was emphatically not the role of a German ambassador to the UK in 1970, when Karl-Günther von Hase — who has died aged 103 —

arrived in London. On the contrary: the “Bonn Republic”, the Western half of a Germany still divided by the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain, was still acutely conscious of its precarious

status. The war had ended quarter of a century before, but memories were still raw. Diplomacy was not immune from the shadow of suspicion cast over all Germans in the post-war era. As recent

historical research has demonstrated, a large proportion of those working for the _Auswärtiges Amt _(Foreign Ministry) had in fact been Nazis. Von Hase was not among them: his parents had

been imprisoned for their role in the July plot to assassinate Hitler. He himself, as a Wehrmacht officer, had been fortunate to survive the war; during several years in Soviet captivity, he

learnt Russian. His intelligence, elegance and charm brought a breath of fresh air to the Anglo-German relationship. Willy Brandt, who had recently become Chancellor, had been an anti-Nazi

activist and was pursuing a policy of détente with the East, known as _Ostpolitik. _Edward Heath, who had just become Prime Minister, was eager for Britain to join the “Common Market”, as

the then European Economic Community was known. He succeeded, but a year later he was replaced by Harold Wilson, who called a referendum on EEC membership. In 1976 Wilson resigned to make

way for the Foreign Secretary, James Callaghan, whom Von Hase already knew well. In West Germany, meanwhile, Brandt fell victim to a spy scandal and was succeeded by Helmut Schmidt, a former

soldier though no Nazi; his partly Jewish ancestry had been concealed by his family.  The Seventies proved to be a golden era of relations between London and Bonn. Von Hase cultivated all

three British prime ministers and became a personal friend of Denis Healey, a former Defence Secretary who became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1974. “Major Healey”, as he was known at the

outset of his political career, spoke German almost as fluently as the ambassador spoke English. They shared not only a common military background but a devotion to what Healey called his

“hinterland” of books, music and the arts. The new ambassador introduced his friend to an annual ceremony at Aachen, where Healey was made a “Knight of the Order Against Deadly Seriousness”

(_Ritter des Ordens gegen Tödliche Ernsthaftigkeit_).  Von Hase proved to be adept at handling awkward situations with aplomb. He was late to present his credentials as ambassador because a

horse had broken the axle of the carriage sent by Buckingham Palace. The Queen had assigned her Oldenburg greys to draw the carriage; when Ambassador von Hase apologised, she replied: “Yes,

I hear that one of my German horses has been rather naughty.” Von Hase and the Queen got on famously thereafter. On another occasion, the Ambassador was entertaining his new opposite number

in Bonn, Sir Nicholas (“Nicko”) Henderson, and the then Foreign Secretary, Jim Callaghan, plus about 30 other guests to a formal banquet at the residence in Belgrave Square. In the middle of

dinner, the butler whispered in the ambassadorial ear. Von Hase rose and, tapping his glass for silence, addressed the gathering: “We are here to give a warm send-off to Sir Nicholas.” With

a smile, he continued: “Germans do, however, have a tendency to overdo things. It is particularly warm tonight because unfortunately the building is on fire. Would you please all now leave

as swiftly as possible?” Carrying their wine glasses, the guests obeyed and stood outside to watch the fire brigade douse the flames. This gift for understatement, wit and a sense of humour

that his hosts saw as very British rather than the more boisterous German variety stood von Hase in good stead for his seven years in London. The British economy may have been in dire

straits, forcing his friend Healey to go cap in hand to the IMF, but  on the diplomatic level relations with Germany — already setting the pace for Europe — were excellent. The Cold War

might have thawed a little, but the British Army of the Rhine was still an essential part of Nato’s deterrent. Bilateral relations still mattered greatly in the 1970s, though in later years

the EU came to overshadow Britain’s foreign policy. Now Anglo-German relations are again at a crucial moment. The new German Ambassador, Andreas Michaelis, has already been in office for a

year, but has had little opportunity to become well known here because, like everything else, normal diplomacy has been interrupted by the pandemic. Like our first female Ambassador in

Berlin, Jill Gallard (who has been in post since November), he has a vital task of rebuilding the bilateral relationship in the post-Brexit era. As of this autumn, it will also be the

post-Merkel era. The new German Chancellor might also be the Federal Republic’s first Green head of government, Annalena Baerbock. The change of atmosphere in Berlin might be reminiscent of

the upheaval in 1969 when Willy Brandt became the first post-war Social Democrat to become Chancellor. Von Hase was not a man of the Left, but he made the most of the fact that both Brandt

and his successor Schmidt were Anglophone Anglophiles. It is often remarked that the British and the Germans are more similar than any other two major nations in Europe. The future of the

Continent depends on harmonious relations between us, whatever past differences there have been. The legacy of the late Karl-Günther von Hase should be a reminder of what can be achieved by

diplomacy of the highest order — and a sense of humour that eschews unnecessary “deadly seriousness”. A MESSAGE FROM THEARTICLE _We are the only publication that’s committed to covering

every angle. We have an important contribution to make, one that’s needed now more than ever, and we need your help to continue publishing throughout the pandemic. So please, make a

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