Ambassadors

Even in the fourth century B.C.E. the Greek philosopher Plato (ca. 427–347 B.C.E.) referred to the tradition of appointing and receiving ambassadors, who are public officials with diplomatic powers and immunities representing the government of one nation to the government of another. In The Laws Plato warns that if “a man passes himself off as an ambassador…of the state and enters into unauthorized negotiations with a foreign power…, he must be open to prosecution for violating the law.”

Clare Boothe Luce had been a playwright and a member of Congress before being appointed U.S. ambassador to Italy in 1953. The Granger Collection, New York

A diplomat may be called an ambassador, a minister, or a chargé d’affaires. These designations indicate the rank of the diplomat but not necessarily the power he or she possesses in representing the nation to a foreign government (see Foreign Affairs). Ambassadors and other diplomatic officials also represent nations in regional organizations such as the Organization of American States and international bodies such as the United Nations. A consul is a commercial agent in a foreign country who ordinarily does not have diplomatic powers or functions. Consuls from different countries may work in several cities of a country with major mutual trading interests, but there is only one official ambassador from one country to another.

The president is authorized under the Constitution’s Article II, section 2, to “nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,…appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls…”(see Advice and Consent). Ambassadors historically represent their country’s head of state, so that an ambassador from the United States is the personal representative of the president and generally reports to the president through the secretary of state (see Cabinet). In 1855 Congress set grades and qualifications for ambassadorial appointment, but the president has great latitude in appointments to ambassadorial posts. On occasion they are made to reward political support rather than to ensure that the most qualified diplomat fills the position.[Page 29]

According to Title 22 of the U.S. Code (the compilation of the laws of the United States), “The President may, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an individual as a chief of mission, as an ambassador at large, as an ambassador, as a minister, as a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, or as a Foreign Service officer.” The president may also “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, confer the personal rank of career ambassador upon a career member of the Senior Foreign Service in recognition of especially distinguished service over a sustained period.” However, if the president wants to confer the rank of ambassador for “a special mission for the President of a temporary nature not exceeding six months,” he must among other things transmit “to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a written report” justifying the reason “for not submitting the [proposed nomination] to the Senate,” as well as providing other requested information.

Particularly prized ambassadorships include appointments to France and the United Kingdom, where ambassadors and other representatives are accredited not to England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom but rather to the Court of St. James’s, the sovereign’s senior palace in London. The palace, completed by Henry VIII in 1540, now serves in part as the residence of the Prince of Wales and is used for his offices. The ambassadorship to Japan, another distinguished posting, has been held by former Speakers of the House John W. McCormack and Thomas S. Foley and former vice president Walter Mondale.

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