The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign diplomats 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 ( ambassadors, high commissioners, nuncios and others) who represent their countries in another state or country. As a body, they usually only assemble to attend state functions like a

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

, inauguration, national day or State Opening of Parliament, depending on local custom. They may also assemble in the royal or presidential palace to give their own

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

'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 obtains 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. 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 an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

agencies, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

, agencies of the African Union, 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''.

Dean of the diplomatic corps

In most countries, the longest-serving ambassador 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 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

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, 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 government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

and former

governors-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

. In many countries that have Roman Catholicism as the official or dominant religion, the

apostolic 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 ...

(the diplomatic representative of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

) 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 B ...

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 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

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

Dean of the diplomatic corps

See also

References

External links