The diplomatic corps () is the collective body of foreign

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 ...

s accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

heads of mission (

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 ...

s, high commissioners,

nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

s and others) who represent their

countries A country is a distinct part of the Earth, world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, List of states with limited r ...

in another state or country. As a body, they usually only assemble to attend state functions like a

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

, national day or

State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of each Legislative session, session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At its core is His or Her Majesty's "Speech from the throne, gracious speech ...

, depending on local custom. They may also assemble in the royal or presidential

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

to give their own

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

's New Year greeting to the head of state of the country in which they are based. The term is sometimes confused with the collective body of diplomats ''from'' a particular country—the proper term for which is ''

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

''. The diplomatic corps is not always given any formal recognition by its host country, but can be referenced by official

orders of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of importance applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. For individuals, it is most often used for diplomats in attendance at very formal occasions. It can also be used in the context of m ...

. In many countries, and especially in Africa, the heads and the foreign members of the country offices of major international organizations (

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 ...

agencies, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

, agencies of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

, etc.) are considered members—and granted the rights and privileges—of the diplomatic corps. Diplomatic vehicles in most countries have distinctive diplomatic license plates, often with the prefix or suffix ''CD'', the abbreviation for the French ''corps diplomatique''.

Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps

In most countries, the longest-serving

to a country is given the title Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps (). The doyen is often accorded a high position in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of importance applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. For individuals, it is most often used for diplomats in attendance at very formal occasions. It can also be used in the context of ...

. In

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, for example, the doyen takes precedence over figures such as the

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and former

governors-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. In many countries that have

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as the official or dominant religion, the ''

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

'' (the diplomatic representative of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

) serves as doyen by virtue of his office, regardless of seniority;Hyginus Eugene Cardinale, ''The Holy See and the International Order'' (), p. 160. Quote: "The right to precedence of all permanent papal representatives regardless of their title, from 1815-1849 was generally acknowledged and admitted without contestation by the governments of all the European States and of South America, and without any objection being raised by the diplomats accredited to these States, not even on the part of the British envoys. Such, for example, was the case of the internuncios Mgr Francesco Capaccini in Holland (1829-1831), Mgr Pasquale Gizzi (1835-1837) and Mgr Raffaele Fornari (1838-1841) in Belgium, Mgr Antonio Garibaldi in France (1836-1843) and all the papal diplomatic representatives with the title of apostolic delegate and envoy extraordinary in the various South American republics." in other cases, the nuncio is treated as an ordinary ambassador of the Holy See and has no special precedence. The

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

and the

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. Its aim is to facilitate "the development of friendly relations" among government ...

provided that any country may choose to give nuncios a different precedence than other ambassadors. The diplomatic corps may also cooperate amongst themselves on a number of matters, including certain dealings with the host government. In practical terms, the doyen of the diplomatic corps may have a role to play in negotiating with local authorities regarding the application of aspects of the

and

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.

, such as the payment of certain fees or taxes, since the receiving country is required "not to discriminate between states". In this sense, the doyen has the role of representing the entire diplomatic corps for matters that affect the corps as a whole, although this function is rarely formalized.

References

External links

United States' Deans of the Diplomatic Corps: 1893 To Present
{{Authority control Diplomacy State ritual and ceremonies

Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps

See also

References

External links