Ambassador
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. In everyday usage it applies to the ranking
plenipotentiary minister stationed in a foreign
capital. The host country typically allows the ambassador control of specific territory called an
embassy, whose territory, staff, and even vehicles are generally afforded
diplomatic immunity from most
laws of the host country.
Role
The senior diplomatic officers among members of the
Commonwealth of Nations are known as
High Commissioners, who are the heads of
High Commissions. Representatives of the
Holy See are known as Papal or Apostolic
Nuncios, while the head of a
Libyan People's Bureau is a
Secretary.
Historically, officials representing their countries abroad were termed
ministers, but this term was also applied to diplomats of the second rank. The
Congress of Vienna of 1815 formalized the system of
diplomatic rank under
international law:
Ambassadors are ministers of the highest rank, with
plenipotentiary authority to represent their head of state. An
Ordinary Ambassador is one heading a permanent diplomatic mission, for instance the senior professional diplomat in an embassy. An
Extraordinary Ambassador could be appointed for special purposes or for an indefinite term; politically appointed ambassadors would fall under this category.
Moreover, a
Resident Ambassador is one who resides within the country to which s/he is accredited., while a
Non-Resident Ambassador does not reside within the country to which (s)he is accredited, but lives in a nearby country. Thus a resident ambassador to a country might at the same time also be a non-resident ambassador to one or more other countries.
Among
European powers, the
ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary (French
ambassadeur extraordinaire et plénipotentiaire or German
ausserordentlicher und bevollmächtigter Botschafter) was deemed the personal representative of the Sovereign, and the custom of dispatching ambassadors to the head of state rather than the government has persisted. For example, ambassadors to and from the
United Kingdom are accredited to or from the Royal
Court of St. James's, rather than to the State.
Because members of the
Commonwealth of Nations have or had a common head of state, they do not exchange ambassadors, but instead have
High Commissioners which represent the governments rather than the head of state.
Ranking below full ambassador are the rank of
Envoy,
Minister resident and
Chargé d'affaires. They represent their government rather than their head of state. For further details, see
diplomatic rank.
While the title still reflects the Ambassador's natural
vocation to head a diplomatic mission, the rank is often held by career diplomats, as a matter of internal promotion, regardless of the posting, and in many national careers it is quite common for them to be appointed to other functions, especially within the ministry/ministries in charge of foreign affairs, in some countries in systematical alteration with actual postings.
Extraordinary postings
Not unlike many diplomats of the lower rank of
Resident (Minister) or the usually full rank of high commissioner, or in other circumstances a
Consul representative, an ambassador can in specific historical conditions be entrusted with a task that is no less administrative then diplomatic, such as representing the protector in a
protectorate of the subordinate kind, e.g. posted by France in the
Saar (rather a mandate territory by another name, in part of Germany)
Lists of ambassadors
*
List of Ambassadors from Serbia*
List of High Commissioners and Ambassadors from Australia*
List of Ambassadors from Egypt*
List of Ambassadors from Finland*
List of Israeli Ambassadors and
List of Israeli ambassadors to the United States*
Ambassadors from the United States*
Ambassadors to the United States*
List of Ambassadors and High Commissioners to Canada*
List of Ambassadors and High Commissioners to the United KingdomIn a less formal sense, the word is used for high-profile non-diplomatic representative of various entities (rarely states), mainly cultural and charitable organisations, often as willing figure heads to attract media attention, e.g. film and pop stars makes appeals to the public at large for UNESCO activities (see
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors), sometimes during press-swarmed visits in the field.
In French speaking regions such as France,
Wallonia or Quebec, the title of
ambassadeur culturel 'cultural ambassador' designates artists or ensembles whose performances are deemed an outstanding representation of french culture.
In
Flanders, the title of
cultureel ambassadeur 'cultural ambassador' is formally awarded by the flemish government to flemish artists and ensembles whose outstanding performances, especially abroad, are deemed to deserve a specific subsidy.
Even more loosely, the word ambassador is sometimes used, without being an actual title, as a vague description of anyone who acts as a high-profile spokesman, frontman etcetera, even implicietly by excelling in a field (such as an art) which he is the said to be an 'ambassador' of, even if no organised campaign is involved.
*
Diplomatic rank*
Consulate general*
High Commissioner*
Nuncio
