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An ambassador-at-large is a

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, a

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

, or a minister of the highest rank who is accredited to represent a country and its people internationally. Unlike an

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

-in-residence, who is usually limited to a country or

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

, the ambassador-at-large is entrusted to operate in several usually neighboring countries, a region or sometimes hold a seat in an international organization like the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and the other international organizations. In some cases, an ambassador-at-large may even be specifically assigned a role to advise and assist the state or a government in particular issues. Historically, presidents or prime ministers have designated special diplomatic envoys for specific assignments, primarily overseas but sometimes also within the country as an ambassador-at-large.

Honorific title

According to international protocol, ambassadors and ambassadors-at-large are officially styled and addressed as His/Her Excellency, or Mister/Madam Ambassador. The title may be abbreviated in official correspondence as H.E.

United States ambassadors-at-large

The

US president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

appointed the first official who specifically bore the title of ambassador-at-large on 12 March 1949 under the authority vested in Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution to deal with specific foreign policy issues, which have been frequently spelled out in their commissions. Ambassador-at-large positions in the diplomatic corps of the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

include: * Coordinator for Counterterrorism * United States Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs * United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice * United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues *

United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom The United States ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom is the ambassador-at-large of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State. The position was created by the Interna ...

United States Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons The United States Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is the head of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in the United States Department of State. The ambassador-at-large advises the United Stat ...

* United States Global AIDS Coordinator

Notable ambassadors-at-large

Asia

* Princess Masna Bolkiah, Brunei's Ambassador-at-Large and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade * Mehdi Samii, Iranian ambassador-at-large for Economic affairs and Advisor to the Prime Minister for International Financing (1971–1973) * Lon Non, Ambassador-at-Large for the Khmer Republic * Mohammad Ziauddin, Ambassador-at-large of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh * Javed Malik, Pakistan's Ambassador-at-Large to the Persian gulf Region * Carlos P. Romulo, President of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

(1949–1950), Secretary/Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador-at-Large under three Philippine Presidents:

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...

(1950–1952), Diosdado Macapagal (1963–1964) and

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

(1968–1984) * León María Guerrero III, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs under

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

(1953–1954) and Ambassador-at-Large under four Philippine Presidents:

(1954–1957), Carlos P. Garcia (1957–1961), Diosdado Macapagal (1961–1965) and Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965–1980) * Chan Heng Chee, Ambassador-at-Large representing

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and former ambassador to the United States from 1996 to 2012 * Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large of Singapore * Ong Keng Yong, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore and former Secretary-General of

Association of Southeast Asian Nations The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its ...

(ASEAN) * Gopinath Pillai, former Ambassador-at-Large of Singapore * Gene Loh, Ambassador-at-Large of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 1997 to 2001 * Audrey Tang, Cyber Ambassador-at-Large of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and former Minister of Digital Affairs *

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice ...

, Formerly Ambassador-at-Large of Turkey; he subsequently served as Foreign Minister and Prime Minister

Europe

* Charles Aznavour, Franco-Armenian singer, Armenian Ambassador-at-Large to Switzerland, then to the

United Nations Organization The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among ...

* Petri Salo, Finland's Roving Ambassador for the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) * Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador-at-Large of

Hellenic Republic Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, Vice President of the European Parliament and Minister for Foreign Affairs of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Georg von Habsburg Georg von HabsburgThe Habsburgs' titles are not recognised anymore in Austria or in Hungary, where he is referred to as Georg Habsburg-Lothringen, which is his legal name (see Austrian nobility and Statute IV of 1947 regarding the abolition of c ...

, Ambassador-at-Large of Hungary * Dame Nuala O'Loan, of Ireland. Roving Ambassador for Conflict Resolution and Special Envoy to Timor-Leste * Jaroslaw Pijarowski, Ambassador-at-Large of International Human Rights Organization for

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

* Jacques Valade, Ambassador-at-Large of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for decentralized cooperation in Asia, from 2008 to 2015.

Africa

* Nicolas Kazadi, Ambassador-at-Large for the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Amina Mohammed, Ambassador-at-large representing Kenya * Lineo Ntoane, Kingdom of Lesotho Ambassador-at-large * Princess Esther Kamatari, Ambassador-at-large representing Burundi

Americas

* Chavano "Buddy" Hield, Ambassador-at-Large for The Bahamas * Robyn Rihanna Fenty, Ambassador-at-Large for Barbados * Attallah Shabazz, Ambassador-at-Large for Belize * Oscar de la Renta, Ambassador-at-Large of the Dominican Republic *

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

, Ambassador-at-Large for Haiti * Barbara Carrera, former Ambassador-at-large for Nicaragua, appointed by then-president Arnoldo Alemán * Suzan Johnson Cook, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom * Henry A. Crumpton, Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State * Eric Goosby, United States Global AIDS Coordinator (Ambassador-at-Large for HIV and AIDS) * John Hanford, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom * Philip Jessup, former United States Ambassador-at-large under President Harry S. Truman *

Strobe Talbott Nelson Strobridge Talbott III (born April 25, 1946) is an American foreign policy analyst focused on Russia. He was associated with ''Time'' magazine, and a diplomat who served as the deputy secretary of state from 1994 to 2001. He was president ...

, US Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary on the New Independent States

References

{{Diplomacy Ambassadors Diplomats by role