A cultural attaché is a
diplomat with varying responsibilities, depending on the sending state of the
attaché
In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...
. Historically, such posts were filled by writers and artists, giving them a steady income, and allowing them to develop their own creative work while promoting their country's culture abroad. However, many countries’ cultural attachés serve a different purpose.
Purposes
Gulf countries
The purpose of the
Gulf countries’ cultural attachés is to preside over the post-secondary education of their nationals, especially those who are state-sponsored to study abroad or those in educational programs created by the state. As such, these cultural attachés work under their countries’ equivalent to a
ministry of education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
rather than a
ministry of culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
*Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
*Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
*Minister for the Arts (Australia)
*Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)
* Ministry of ...
or a
ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In other words, where an ambassador is the
head of mission sent by the ministry of foreign affairs to serve the relations between the host country and the sending country, a cultural attaché in the Gulf is the head of mission sent by the ministry of education to oversee the education of the nationals of the sending country in the host country. This head-of-mission-status gives the Gulf states' cultural attachés high-ranking diplomatic status as opposed to other countries in which the role of cultural attachés is not as important nor vital.
For instance, the
Saudi Arabian
Saudis ( ar, سعوديون, Suʿūdiyyūn) are people identified with the country of Saudi Arabia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. The Saudis are composed mainly of Arabs and primarily speak a regional dialect ...
cultural attaché could be sent by the
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
to supervise and manage medical training programs that train Saudi Arabian medical students in universities and hospitals abroad (as well as performing the aforementioned responsibilities of overseeing other state-sponsored students and programs).
United States
American cultural attachés have historically been known to be
spies
Spies most commonly refers to people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations.
Spies or The Spies may also refer to:
* Spies (surname), a German surname
* Spies (band), a jazz fusion band
* Spies (song), "Spies" (song), a song by ...
posing as diplomats.
While this tactic was used primarily during the
Cold War against
Eastern European states allied with the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, the United States has sent spies posing as diplomats to
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
, and
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
.
This is a highly effective intelligence tactic because cultural attachés have a very broad purpose and are covered by
diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country. , protected by
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
should they be accused of espionage.
References
External links
"What does a Cultural Attaché DO?" - John L. Brown, Foreign Service Journal, Vol. 41, No. 6 (June 1964)
Government occupations
Diplomats by role
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