Term
Attaché
An official assigned to a diplomatic mission or embassy. Usually, this person has advanced expertise in a specific field, such as agriculture, commerce, or the military.
Term
Showing all 109 results
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Term
Country team
An interagency group made up of the heads of each State Department section in the embassy and the heads of the other U.S. government agencies represented at post. The country team meeting represents a regular occasion for the sharing of information among sections and agencies, and an opportunity to coordinate activities.
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Term
Asylum
To receive protection from another nation, or in some cases, one’s own nation; when one state allows someone to live within its borders, out of reach of the authority of a second state from which the person seeks protection.
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Term
Credentials
The name for letters given to an ambassador by their chief of state, and addressed to the chief of state of the host country. Credentials are delivered to the chief of state by the ambassador in a formal credentials ceremony, which generally takes place shortly after the ambassador’s arrival at a new post. Until this ceremony has taken place, the ambassador is not formally recognized by the host country and cannot officially act as an ambassador. The letters are termed "letters of credence" because they request the receiving chief of state to give "full credence" to what the ambassador will say on behalf of their government.
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Term
Belligerency
A state of belligerency is a state of armed conflict. Belligerents are direct participants in the conflict.
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Term
Consulate
An office that is part of an embassy or established by one nation in an important city of another nation for the purpose of supporting and protecting its citizens traveling or residing there. In addition, these offices are charged with performing other important duties such as issuing visas (where this is required) to host country nationals wishing to travel to the country the consulate represents. All consulates, whether located in the capital city or in other communities, are administratively under the ambassador and the embassy.
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Term
Bilateral
Discussions, negotiations, or treaties between a sovereign state and one other entity, either another sovereign state or an international organization. The relationship between two nations is referred to as a bilateral relationship.
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Term
Breaking relations
The formal act of severing diplomatic relations with another nation to underscore disapproval of its actions or policies. It is only done under severe situations.
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Term
Chargé d'affaires
Formerly, a chargé d'affaires was the title of a chief of mission, inferior in rank to an ambassador or a minister. It is still used as the title of the head of a US mission where the US and other nation do not have full diplomatic relations. Today with the a.i. (ad interim) added, it designates the senior officer taking charge for the interval when a chief of mission is absent from his/her post or the position is vacant.