Full text search :

diplomatic classes

The classes into which heads of mission are divided according to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961). The first class consists of ambassadors or nuncios, and other heads of mission of equivalent rank (notably high commissioners); the second of envoys, ministers (sense 1) and internuncios; and the third of chargÃ©s d\'affaires. The class to which a head of mission is assigned must be agreed by the sending and receiving states. Heads of mission in the first two classes are accredited to heads of state, while those in the third are accredited only to ministers of foreign affairs. The class of minister resident, which had been added at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 as the third out of four classes, was dropped in 1961. Today, heads of mission of the second rank are also a rarity. See also precedence; Regulation of Vienna (1815).

Bookmark this page:

<< former term		next term >>
diplomatic bag		diplomatic communication