Ribbentrop, Joachim von (yō`aäkhĭm fən rĭb`əntrôp), 1893–1946, German foreign minister (1938–45). After World War I he became a wealthy champagne merchant. He joined the National Socialist party in 1932 and impressed Adolf Hitler Hitler, Adolf (ä`dôlf hĭt`lər)
..... Click the link for more information. with his knowledge of foreign languages and countries; he soon became Hitler's foreign policy expert and set up his own office on foreign affairs, which often superseded the foreign office. At the same time, he was German ambassador at large (1935–36) and ambassador to Great Britain (1936–38), returning a violent Anglophobe. In 1938 he succeeded Constantin Neurath Neurath, Constantin, Baron von (kôn`stäntēn bärôn` fən noi`rät'), 1873–1956, German diplomat.
..... Click the link for more information. as foreign minister. He was influential in the formation of the Rome-Berlin Axis (1936), in the conclusion of the Russo-German nonaggression pact of Aug., 1939, and in planning the attack on Poland that set off World War II. As foreign minister, he was subservient to Hitler. He was dismissed by Admiral Karl Doenitz Doenitz, Karl (dön`ĭts), 1891–1980, German admiral.
..... Click the link for more information. after Hitler's death. At the war crimes trials at Nuremberg he was convicted as a war criminal and hanged.

Ribbentrop, Joachim von

(born April 30, 1893, Wesel, Ger.—died Oct. 16, 1946, Nürnberg) German diplomat and foreign minister under the Nazi regime. After serving in World War I, he became a wine merchant. He met Adolf Hitler in 1932 and became his chief adviser on foreign affairs. He negotiated the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and served as ambassador to Britain (1936–38), advising Hitler that Britain could not aid Poland effectively. As foreign minister (1938–45), he negotiated the Pact of Steel with Italy, the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, and the Tripartite Pact with Japan and Italy. His influence waned in World War II, after which he was found guilty at the Nürnberg trials and hanged.