Term
Consul-general
A consular officer of the highest rank; senior official at the consulate general.
Encyclopedia Entries
Showing 31–40 of 259 results
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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
Consulate General
A larger consulate with greater importance that is presided over by a consul-general.
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Term
Containment
The basic strategy of containing Soviet power during the Cold War. This policy would "promote tendencies which must eventually find their outlet in either the break-up or the gradual mellowing of Soviet power." George Kennan, an American diplomat for the Department of State in the mid-1950s, is credited for conceiving this idea.
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Term
Convention
An assembly of persons who meet for a common purpose, especially a meeting of delegates for the purpose of formulating a written agreement on specific issues. The word also refers to the written agreement itself.
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Term
Country desk
The Department of State has an office for each country with whom the U.S. shares diplomatic relations. These offices are often called country desks, and if a large country is involved, the desk is likely to be staffed by a large number of officers. A smaller country may require a one-officer desk only.
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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
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
Defection
When an official gives up his or her allegiance to one state in preference for another, usually because of disagreement over government policy, often immigrating to or seeking asylum in the new state. Defecting generally indicates a desire to participate in opposition or political activity that is illegal or impossible in the original country, differentiating it from a simple change in citizenship.
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Term
Delegation
A party or group sent to represent a state or another body at an international conference or gathering.