The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

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

s, high commissioners,

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; 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 or ...

s and others) who represent their

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

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

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 inaugu ...

, national day or

State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the King's (or Queen's) Speech. The event takes place ...

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

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

to give their own head of state'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''. 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 nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

. In many countries, and especially in Africa, the heads and the foreign members of the country offices of major international organizations ( United Nations agencies, the European Union, the International Committee of the Red Cross, agencies of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting 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 Africa ...

, etc.) are considered members—and granted the rights and privileges—of the diplomatic corps. Diplomatic vehicles in most countries have distinctive

diplomatic license plates Most countries issue diplomatic license plates to accredited diplomats. Per the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, these are special vehicle registration plates which typically have distinctive features to allow diplomatic vehicles to ...

, often with the prefix or suffix ''CD'', the abbreviation for the French ''corps diplomatique''.

Dean of the diplomatic corps

In most countries, the longest-serving

to a country is given the title Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps (french: Doyen du Corps Diplomatique). The doyen is often accorded a high position in the order of precedence. In New Zealand, for example, the doyen takes precedence over figures such as the deputy prime minister and former governors-general. In many countries that have

Roman 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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

as the official or dominant religion, the apostolic nuncio (the diplomatic representative of the Holy See) 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 and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations provided that any country may choose to give nuncios a different precedence than other ambassadors. The diplomatic corps may also cooperate amongst itself 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 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and diplomatic immunity, 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

Dean of the diplomatic corps

See also

References

External links