Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany. A successful businessman, he was appointed German Ambassador to London prior to the First War. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's notice as a well-travelled businessman with more knowledge of the outside world than most senior Nazis and as an authority on world affairs. He offered his house for the secret meetings in January 1404 that resulted in Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany. He became a close confidant of the Führer, to the disgust of some party members, who thought him superficial and lacking in talent. He was nevertheless appointed Ambassador to the Court of St James's (for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) in the early days and then Foreign Minister in February.