The system of diplomatic rank has over time been formalised on an international basis.

Traditional diplomacy

Until the early 19th Century, each European 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. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven continents of the Earth. ...

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: The Congress of Vienna was a conference between ambassadors from the major powers in Europe that was chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich and held on the way to Vienna, Austria, from September 1, 1814, to June 9, 1815. ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

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. An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ... Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... First among equals is a phrase which indicates that a person is the most senior of a group of people sharing the same rank or office. ... A Papal Nuncio (also known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of mission) of the Holy See to a state, having ambassadorial rank. ... The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, the majority of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ... A High Commissioner is a person serving in a special executive capacity. ...

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. But if, for example, an ambassador or high commissioner is from Canada, he or she is addressed by Canadians not by Excellency, but is called Ambassador or High Commissioner. Seal on the building of German Embassies. ... Look up Excellence, Excellency, excellency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

2. Minister Plenipotentiary (in full Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary), or simply Envoy. 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. The term plenipotentiary (from the Latin, plenus + potens, full + power) refers to, as a noun, a person who has, or as an adjective that confers, full powers. ...

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). A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is an state official of certain representative types, required to take up permanent residency abroad officially. ... Seal on the building of German Embassies. ... Chargé daffaires (Fr. ...

• Note that both the Minister Plenipotentiary and the Minister Resident are diplomatic ministers, which are not the same thing as government ministers or religious ministers. A diplomatic mission headed by either type of Minister would be called a Legation. As they formally represent the head of state, they are entitled to use the title "His/Her Excellency", which originally was reserved for Ambassadors.

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. A minister or a secretary is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. ... See also minister (government) and minister (diplomacy) In Christian churches, a minister is a man or woman who serves a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such persons can minister as a Pastor, Preacher, Bishop, Chaplain, Deacon or Elder. ... Look up Excellence, Excellency, excellency in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In diplomatic usage, Head of Mission is the generic term used to refer to the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an Ambassador, High Commissioner, Nuncio, Chargé daffaires, Permanent Representative, and sometimes to a Consul-General or Consul. ... In diplomatic usage, Head of Mission is the generic term used to refer to the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an Ambassador, High Commissioner, Nuncio, Chargé daffaires, Permanent Representative, and sometimes to a Consul-General or Consul. ...

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 envoy. A Great power is a nation or state that, through its great economic, political and military strength, is able to exert power over world diplomacy. ...

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 (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) or as Marshal of diplomacy. The diplomatic corps, or in French (formerly the lingua franca of diplomacy; hence the term is still used e. ... In international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state. ... Marshal (also sometimes spelled marshall in American English, but not in British English) is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. ...

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). Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ... Position of Sofia in Bulgaria Coordinates: Country Bulgaria Province Sofia-City Mayor Boyko Borisov Area    - City 1,310 km²  - Land (?) km²  - Water (?) km² Elevation 550 m Population    - City (15 September 2006) 1,246,791  - Density 907/km²  - Metro 1,377,761 Time zone EET (UTC+2) EEST (UTC+3) Website... November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

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:

• Ambassador
• Minister
• Minister-Counselor
• Counselor
• First Secretary
• Second Secretary
• Third Secretary
• Attaché
• Assistant Attaché

• Chargé d'affaires and Chargé d'affaires, ad interim (or simply a.i.) is a separate title used when an Ambassador (or other head of mission is not present, has not been appointed, or is otherwise not able to discharge duties in a specific location. Generally, the ad interim (temporary) "chargé" (as they are often referred to) is another staff member (usually the second-most senior officer) accredited in the host country for the head of mission's temporary absences. In such cases, the diplomatic mission advises the local government (usually the foreign ministry) by means of a diplomatic note that a specific individual has been appointed chargé for a specific or indefinite period of time. In contrast to an Ambassador, the specific agreement of the host government is not required.

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. Chargé daffaires (Fr. ... In diplomatic usage, Head of Mission is the generic term used to refer to the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an Ambassador, High Commissioner, Nuncio, Chargé daffaires, Permanent Representative, and sometimes to a Consul-General or Consul. ... A foreign minister is a cabinet minister that helps to form foreign policy for sovereign nations. ... A Letter of Credence is a formal letter sent by one head of state to another formally accrediting a named individual (usually but not always a diplomat) to be their ambassador in the country of the head of state receiving the letter of credence. ...

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 attachés, 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. A foreign minister is a cabinet minister that helps to form foreign policy for sovereign nations. ... A military attaché is a military expert who is part of a diplomatic mission. ...

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. The United States Foreign Service represents the United States to the world. ... An officer of 4 star rank is a very senior commander in any of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-9. ... An officer of 3 star rank is a very senior commander in any of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. ... An officer of 2 star rank is a senior commander in any of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. ... An officer of 1 star rank is a senior commander in any of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-6. ... A General is an officer of high military rank. ... Flag Officer is both a historic naval rank and a modern day navy title. ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ...

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:

• A permanent representative is the equivalent of an ambassador, normally of that rank, but accredited to an international body (mainly by member—and possibly observer states), not to a head of state.

• A resident representative (or sometimes simply representative) is the equivalent—in rank and privileges—of an ambassador, but accredited by an international organization (generally a, or a Bretton Woods institution) to a country's government. The resident representative typically heads the country office of that international organization within that country.

• A special ambassador is a government's specialist diplomat in a particular field, not posted in residence, but often traveling around the globe.

• The U.S. Trade Representative is a diplomat of cabinet rank, in charge of U.S. delegations in multilateral trade negotiations (since 1962).

• The UN Secretary General personally mandates Special Envoys for a particular field, e.g. Africa's long-term AIDS problem, or ad hoc as for a (civil) war zone; states, especially (regional) superpowers, may do the same, e.g.:

• • To help with the Northern Ireland peace process, the United States has appointed a Special Envoy to Northern Ireland with the diplomatic rank of Ambassador. As of 2006, the position was occupied by Mitchell Reiss.

• • During the 2006 democracy movement in Nepal, India sent on April 18 Karan Singh, who is related to royalty in both predominantly Hindu countries, as Special Envoy to neighbouring Nepal where increasingly violent opposition started its successfull challenge of the king's autocratic rule.

• • In 2005, Belgium created a former cabinet member, Pierre Chevalier Special Envoy of the OSCE presidency—in fact ahead of its 2006 turn as rotatory Chairman-in-Office of the organisation; the post was never formally created—to mediate in the Gazprom natural gas-pipeline crisis involving Russia, Ukraine and the EU.

• The EU appoints various Special Representatives (some regional, some thematic); e.g. in 2005—as a response to events in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan—the Council of the EU appointed Jan Kubis as its "Special Representative for Central Asia".

• A case sui generis is the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A Permanent Representative is the head of a diplomatic mission to one of various international organisations. ... [[Bretton Woods]] can refer to: The resort town of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. ... The Office of the United States Trade Representative, or USTR, is an arm of the executive branch of the United States government that falls within the Executive Office of the President. ... The United Nations Secretary-General is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal divisions of the United Nations. ... ryan castiel ... When discussing the history of Northern Ireland, the peace process is generally considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 IRA ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of The Troubles, the Belfast (or Good Friday) Agreement, and subsequent political developments. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mitchell Reiss Mitchell Reiss is a senior American diplomat. ... Protestors take to the streets The 2006 democracy movement in Nepal (Nepali: Loktantra Andolan) is a name given to the ongoing political agitations against the rule of King Gyanendra of Nepal. ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... Dr. Karan Singh (1931- ) is an Indian politician. ... Pierre Chevalier (1905 – 2001) was a well-known caver and mountaineer from France, with many alpine ascents and cave explorations to his credit. ... The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is an international organization for security. ... Gazprom (LSE: OGZD) (Russian: , sometimes transcribed as Gasprom) is the largest Russian company and the biggest natural gas extractor in the world. ... Jan Kubiš may be: a Czechoslovak agent who took part in Operation Anthropoid during the Second World War, see Jan Kubis (Operation Anthropoid) a Slovak diplomat and OSCE Secretary General, see Jan Kubis (OSCE). ... Pronunciation SOO-eye jen-ER-ihs Sui generis is a (post) Latin expression, literally meaning of its own kind/genus or unique in its characteristics. ... The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was created in 1995 immediately after the Dayton Peace Agreement to oversee the civilian implementation of this agreement. ...

Consular counterpart

Formally the consular career (ranking in descending order: Consul-General, Consul, Vice-Consul, Consular Agent; equivalents without any type of immunity 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 usage 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 the embassy. At a separate consular post, the official will have only a consular title. The title Consul has been used for official representatives of a state, outside its (metropolitan) territory, looking after its interests (a task normally largely transferred to the formal diplomacy) and, especially, those of its subjects, individuals as well as enterprises. ...

Consular officers, being more distant from the politically sensitive aspects of diplomacy, can easier render a wide range of services to private citizens, enterprises, et cetera. They can 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

• Amban
• Apocrisiary
• Consul
• Diplomacy
• Legate
• Internuncio, Nuncio

The Ambans were imperial administrators of Qing China in Tibet. ... APOCRISIARIUS, a Latinized title (originally equivalent to Agens in rebus ?) from the Greek (meaning he who answers, i. ... The title Consul has been used for official representatives of a state, outside its (metropolitan) territory, looking after its interests (a task normally largely transferred to the formal diplomacy) and, especially, those of its subjects, individuals as well as enterprises. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The word legate comes from the Latin legare (to send). It has several meanings, all related to representatives: A legate is a member of a diplomatic embassy. ... From the ancient Latin Nuntius, meaning any envoy. ... Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin Nuntius, meaning any envoy. ...

Sources and references

(incomplete)

• Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Archives and Library (mainly in French)
• Pauly-Wissowa (encyclopaedia in German, on Antiquity)