Information AboutMinister Plenipotentiary |
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The system of diplomatic rank has over time been formalised on an international basis. TRADITIONAL DIPLOMACY Until the early 19th Century , each Europe an nation had its own system of diplomatic rank. The relative ranks of diplomats from different nations had been a source of considerable dispute, made more so by the insistence of major nations to have their diplomats ranked higher than those of minor nations, to be reflected in such things as table seatings. In an attempt to resolve the problem, the Congress Of Vienna of 1815 formally established an international system of diplomatic ranks. The four ranks within the system were: 1. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, or simply Ambassador , who is a representative of the Head Of State . Equivalent, and in some traditions '' Primus Inter Pares '', is the Papal Nuncio . Amongst Commonwealth countries, the equivalent title High Commissioner (who represents the government rather than the head of state) is normally used instead. A Diplomatic Mission headed by an ambassador would be known as an '' Embassy ''; one headed by a High Commissioner is called a '' High Commission ''. Ambassadors and high commissioners are entitled to use the title "His/Her Excellency " from the government and the people of the country they are appointed to. 2. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. Usually just referred to as a Minister, an envoy is a diplomatic representative with Plenipotentiary powers (i.e. full authority to represent the head of state), but ranking below an Ambassador. Where Embassies are headed by Ambassadors, '' Legations '' are headed by Ministers. 3. Minister Resident or '''Resident Minister''', or simply Minister, is the, now extremely rare, lowest rank of full Diplomatic Mission chief, only above Chargé D'affaires (who is considered an extraordinary substitute).
4. Chargé d'affaires, or simply Chargé. As the French title suggests, a chargé d'affaires would be in charge of an embassy's or a legation's affairs in the (usually temporary) absence of a more senior diplomat. A Chargé d'affaires ''ad interim'' or simply "a.i." is generally serving as Head Of Mission during the temporary absence of the Head Of Mission , while the Chargé d'affaires ''e.p.'' or ''en pied'' maintains the same functions and duties as an ambassador, and is accredited not to the head of state but to the minister of foreign relations of the receiving state. As it turned out, this system of diplomatic rank did nothing to solve the problem of the nations' precedence. The appropriate diplomatic ranks used would be determined by the precedence among the nations; thus the exchanges of ambassadors (the highest diplomatic rank) would be reserved among major nations, or close allies and related monarchies. In contrast, a major nation would probably send just an envoy to a minor nation, who in return would send an envoy to the major nation. As a result, the United States did not use the rank of ambassador until their emergence as a major World Power at the end of the 19th Century. Indeed, until the mid-20th Century, the majority of diplomats in the world were of the rank of minister plenipotentiary. In diplomatic parlance, all the diplomats that are assigned to a nation are known collectively as the Diplomatic Corps ; one of these diplomats is recognized as the ''primus inter pares''—in practice rather a Protocolar honor—who acts as the spokesperson for all, known as the Dean Of The Diplomatic Corps or as Marshal of Diplomacy (generally based on the date of arrival in country or presentation of credentials to the head of state, although in some Catholic nations it is held automatically by the Papal Nuncio). After World War II , it was no longer considered acceptable to treat some nations as inferior to others given the United Nations doctrine of equality of sovereign states; therefore most legations were upgraded to embassies, and the use of the rank of Minister for diplomatic missions' highest-ranking officials gradually ceased. The last U.S. Legation, in Sofia , Bulgaria , was upgraded to an Embassy on November 28 , 1966 . Where those ranks still exist, their incumbents usually act as embassy section chiefs or Deputy Chief of Mission (deputy to the Ambassador). MODERN DIPLOMATS Bilateral diplomacy In modern diplomatic practice there are a number of diplomatic ranks below Ambassador. Since most missions are now headed by an Ambassador, these ranks now rarely indicate a mission's (or its host nation's) relative importance, but rather reflect the diplomat's individual seniority within their own nation's diplomatic career path and in the diplomatic corps in the host nation:
In certain cases, a Chargé d'affaires may be appointed for long periods, when a mission is headed by a non-resident Ambassador, when countries have established diplomatic relations but not exchanged Ambassadors, or when they have recalled their Ambassadors for a period of time (to express displeasure or serious disagreement) but not yet taken the extremely serious step of breaking diplomatic relations. It is not unheard of for Chargé d'affaires to remain in place for an indefinite period. Since a Chargé d'affaires does not need to present Letters Of Credence to the host head of state, appointing a chargé may avoid a politically sensitive meeting or implying some form of approval or recognition of that head of state or government. Equally, the receiving country may express displeasure by declining to receive an Ambassador, but maintain diplomatic relations by accepting a Chargé. The term Attaché is used for any diplomatic agent who does not fit in the standard diplomatic ranks, often because they are not (or were not traditionally) members of the sending country's diplomatic service or Foreign Ministry , and were therefore only "attached" to the diplomatic mission. The most frequent use is for Military Attaché s, but the diplomatic title may be used for any specific individual or position as required. Since administrative and technical staff benefit from only limited diplomatic immunity, some countries may routinely appoint support staff as attachés. Attaché does not, therefore, connote any rank or position. Note that many traditional functionary roles, such as Press Attaché or Cultural Attaché , are not formal titles in diplomatic practice, although they may be used as a matter of custom. USAGE WORLDWIDE Most countries worldwide have some form of internal rank, roughly parallel to the diplomatic ranks, which are used in their foreign service or civil service in general. The correspondence is not exact, however, for various reasons, including the fact that according to diplomatic usage, all Ambassadors are of equal rank, but clearly Ambassadors of more senior rank are sent to more important postings. Some countries may make specific links or comparisons to military ranks. Usage in the United States Foreign Service In the United States Foreign Service , a system of personal ranks is applied which roughly corresponds to these diplomatic ranks. Personal ranks are differentiated as "Senior Foreign Service" (SFS) or "Foreign Service Officer" (FSO). The SFS ranks, in descending order, are Career Ambassador, awarded to career diplomats with extensive and distinguished service; Career Minister, the highest regular senior rank; Minister-Counselor; and Counselor. In U.S. terms, these correspond to 4- , 3- , 2- and 1-star General and Flag Officers in the military, respectively. Officers at these ranks may serve as Ambassadors and the most senior positions in diplomatic missions. FSO ranks descend from FS-1, equivalent to a full Colonel in the military, to FS-9, the lowest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service personnel system. (Most FSOs begin at the FS-5 or FS-6 level.) Personal rank is distinct from and should not be confused with the diplomatic or consular rank assigned at the time of appointment to a particular diplomatic or consular mission. In a large mission, several Senior Foreign Service Officers may serve under the Ambassador as Minister-Counselors, Counselors, First Secretaries, and Attaches; in a small mission, an FS-2 may serve as the lone Minister-Counselor of Embassy. Usage in the British Diplomatic Service As in the US Foreign Service, the British Diplomatic Service differentiates between officers in the "Senior Management Structure" (SMS; equivalent to the Senior Civil Service grades of the Home Civil Service) and those in the "delegated grades". SMS officers are classified into three pay-bands, and will serve in the Foreign And Commonwealth Office in London as (in descending order of seniority) Permanent Under-Secretary , Directors-General, Directors, or Heads of Group; overseas they will be Ambassadors (High Commissioners in Commonwealth countries), or Consuls-General, Deputy Heads of Mission or Counsellors for larger posts. (Deputy Heads of Mission at the historically most significant Embassies, for example those in Washington and Paris, are known as Ministers.) In the "delegated grades", officers are graded by number from 1 to 7; the grades are grouped into bands lettered A-D (grades 1 and 2 are in Band A; 3 in B; 4 and 5 in C; and 6 and 7 in D). Overseas, B3-grade officers are Third Secretaries; C4s are Second Secretaries; and C5s and D6s are First Secretaries. D7 officers are usually Deputy Heads of Mission in medium-sized posts or Heads of Mission in small posts. Usage in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ( DFAT ) officers are graded into three broadbands (BB1 to BB3), plus Directors (EL2) and the Senior Executive Service (SES Band 1 to SES Band 3). BB1 (entry level positions) is equivalent to APS1 to APS3 grades; BB2 includes APS4 and APS5 (includes desk officers); BB3 includes APS6 and EL1 (includes executive officers and unit managers). Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Consuls-General usually come from the Senior Executive Service, although in smaller posts the head of mission may be a highly-qualified EL2 officer. Generally speaking (and there are variation in ranking and nomenclature between posts and positions), Counsellors are represented by EL2 positions; First Secretaries are BB3 (EL1); Second Secretaries and Consuls are either BB3 (APS6) or BB2 (APS5) and Third Secretaries and Vice Consuls are BB2 (APS4). DFAT only posts a limited number of low level BB1 staff abroad. The title Attache is no longer used for diplomatic staff. The title Defence Attache is traditionally given to the highest ranking member of the Defence staff. Multilateral diplomacy Furthermore, outside this traditional pattern of bilateral diplomacy, as a rule on a permanent residency basis (though sometimes doubling elsewhere), certain ranks and positions were created specifically for multilateral diplomacy:
Consular counterpart Formally the include Honorary Consul-General, Honorary Consul, and Honorary Vice-Consul) forms a separate hierarchy. Many countries do not internally have a separate consular path or stream, and the meaning of "consular" responsibilities and functions will differ from country to country. Other titles, including "Vice Consul-General", have existed in the past. Consular titles may be used concurrently with diplomatic titles if the individual is assigned to an embassy. Diplomatic immunity is more limited for consular officials without other diplomatic accreditation, and broadly limited to immunity with respect to their official duties. At a separate consular post, the official will have only a consular title. Officials at consular posts may therefore have consular titles, but not be involved in traditional consular activities, and actually be responsible for trade, cultural, or other matters. Consular officers, being nominally more distant from the politically sensitive aspects of diplomacy, can more easily render a wide range of services to private citizens, enterprises, et cetera. They may be more numerous since diplomatic missions are posted only in a nation's capital, while consular officials are stationed in various other cities as well. However, it is not uncommon for individuals to be transferred from one hierarchy to the other, and for consular officials to serve in a capital carrying out strictly consular duties within the 'consular section' of a diplomatic post, e.g. within an embassy. Some countries routinely provide their Embassy officials with consular commissions, including those without formal consular responsibilities, since a consular commission allows the individual to legalize documents, sign certain documents, and undertake certain other necessary functions. Depending on the practice of the individual country, "consular services" may be limited to services provided for citizens or residents of the sending country, or extended to include, for example, visa services for nationals of the host country. SEE ALSO SOURCES AND REFERENCES
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