diplomatic service: The Members of the Service

By the end of the 17th cent. permanent legations had become widespread in Europe. There was no uniformity in titles and status among various ambassadors, however, and agents operating below the ambassadorial level, although influential, were often corrupt. At the Congress of Vienna (1815) this system was corrected, and a classification of diplomatic ranks was adopted. Four grades of diplomatic representatives were recognized: ambassador, papal legate, and papal nuncio; minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary; minister; and chargé d'affaires. This codification went far toward professionalizing the diplomatic service and established it as a branch of the public service in each nation.

As the diplomatic service became a regularized institution, its functions began to grow. While the ambassadors themselves continued to act as personal representatives of their particular heads of state, their staffs necessarily expanded as various types of attachés were assigned to the embassies. Today secretaries, military, cultural, and commercial attachés, clerical workers, and various experts and advisers are all part of the diplomatic corps. Diplomatic business is generally conducted according to forms long established by custom, including memorandums, informal oral or written notes, or formal notes. Although French was once the universal language of diplomacy, both French and English are used today.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Recent Developments
• Diplomatic Relations
• Diplomatic Immunity
• Diplomatic Service of the United States
• The Members of the Service
• Origins
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: International Affairs: Diplomacy