Ralph Paget
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The Right Honourable Sir Ralph Paget KCMG CVO PC |
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| 1st British Ambassador to Brazil | |
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In office 1918–1920 |
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| Preceded by | Mission upgraded |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Tilley |
| British Minister to Denmark | |
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In office 1916–1918 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Henry Lowther |
| Succeeded by | Sir Charles Marling |
| British Minister to Serbia | |
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In office 1910–1913 |
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| Preceded by | Sir James Beethom Whitehead |
| Succeeded by | Sir Charles des Graz |
| British Minister to Thailand | |
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In office 1904–1909 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Reginald Tower |
| Succeeded by | Sir Arthur Peel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 November 1864 |
| Died | 11 May 1940 (aged 75) France |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Dame Louise Paget; no children |
| Relations | Sir Augustus Paget (father), General Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget (father-in-law, cousin) |
| Residence | Warren House, Kingston upon Thames, England, UK |
| Alma mater | Eton College |
| Profession | Diplomat |
| Religion | Church of England |
Sir Ralph Spencer Paget KCMG CVO PC (26 November 1864 – 11 May 1940) was a British diplomat in the Foreign Service, culminating in his appointment as Ambassador to Brazil in 1918.
Ralph Spencer Paget was born on 26 November 1864 at the British Legation in Copenhagen, where his father Sir Augustus Paget served as Minister to Denmark. His great-uncle, who died ten years before his birth, was Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey who had led the cavalry at Waterloo, and his uncle was the distinguished naval officer Lord Clarence Paget. As the third child and second son of a senior career diplomat Paget attended public school in England. He was educated at Eton College, where he won the Prince Consort's prize for German. He shone at rowing, being part of the winning "Novice Eight" in 1881, which also won in the Procession of Boats on 4 June of that year and later in the "House Four". After finishing school he studied abroad, becoming an "Arabic and Turkish scholar" before being nominated in April, 1888 attaché in the Foreign Service and sent to Vienna to serve with his father, the Ambassador to Austria-Hungary. In the autumn of 1889 he was sent to Egypt to work with Sir Evelyn Baring, the British Agent and Consul-General, who was in effect the de facto ruler of the country. While there he "gained an insight into the realities of administrative reform" while Baring introduced his financial reforms.
He was dispatched in 1891 to Zanzibar, recently exchanged with Heligoland, and worked with Gerald Portal (the colonial commissioner) to promote "the first beginnings of European civilisation in the East of Africa". In June, 1892 he was sent to the British mission in Washington, DC where he stayed for only a year. In June, 1893 he then joined the legation in Tokyo, where he served as chargé d'affaires, where he served for six years. In 1895 he was promoted to Second Secretary. He made such a good impression that upon his arrival the Japanese journal Nichi Nichi Shimbun wrote;
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