Dictionary Definition
ambassador
Noun
1 a diplomat of the highest rank; accredited as
representative from one country to another [syn: embassador]
2 an informal representative; "an ambassador of
good will"
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From Latin ambactus (servant).Pronunciation
IPA: WEAE /æmˈbæs.ə.dɚ/ or /-ˌdɔɹ/Noun
ambassador- A minister of the highest rank sent to a foreign court to
represent there his sovereign or country.
- Note: Ambassadors are either ordinary [or resident] or extraordinary, that is, sent upon some special or unusual occasion or errand. --Abbott.
- An official messenger and representative.
- A trick to duck some ignorant fellow or landsman, frequently played on board ships in the warm latitudes. It is thus managed: A large tub is filled with water, and two stools placed on each side of it. Over the whole is thrown a tarpaulin, or old sail: this is kept tight by two persons, who are to represent the king and queen of a foreign country, and are seated on the stools. The person intended to be ducked plays the Ambassador, and after repeating a ridiculous speech dictated to him, is led in great form up to the throne, and seated between the king and queen, who rising suddenly as soon as he is seated, he falls backwards into the tub of water. (1811 Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue)
Related terms
Translations
minister
- Bosnian: ambasador
- Croatian: veleposlanik , ambasador
- Czech: velvyslanec
- Gujarati: એલચી (elćī)
- Hebrew: שגריר (shagryr) , שגרירה (shagrira)
- Hindi: दूत (dūt)
- Japanese: 大使 (taishi)
- Kurdish: balyoz, sefîr, ambasador
- Malay: duta
- Serbian:
- Slovenian: veleposlanik , ambasador
- Swedish: ambassadör
representative
- Arabic: (safīr)
- Azerbaijani:
- Bosnian: ambasador , izaslanik
- Croatian: veleposlanik , ambasador
- Esperanto: ambasadoro , ambasadorino
- Gujarati: એલચી (elćī)
- Hindi: दूत (dūt)
- Japanese: 大使 (taishi)
- Kazakh: елші
- Kurdish: balyoz, sefîr, ambasador
- Kyrgyz: әлчи
- Latin: legatus
- Malay: duta
- Persian: (sefir)
- Serbian:
- Slovenian: veleposlanik , ambasador
- Swedish: ambassadör
- Tatar:
- Turkish: elçi
- Turkmen:
- Uyghur:
- Uzbek:
vulgarity
See also
Extensive Definition
An ambassador is a diplomatic official accredited
to a foreign
sovereign or government, or to an international
organization, to serve as the official representative of his or
her own country. In everyday usage it applies to the ranking
government representative stationed in a foreign capital. The host country
typically allows the ambassador control of specific territory
called an embassy, whose
territory, staff, and even vehicles are generally afforded diplomatic
immunity in the host country.
The senior diplomatic officers among members of
the Commonwealth
of Nations are known as High
Commissioners, who are the heads of High
Commissions. Representatives of the Holy See are
known as Papal or Apostolic Nuncios.
Historically, officials representing their
countries abroad were termed ministers, but this term was also
applied to diplomats of the second rank. The Congress
of Vienna of 1815 formalized the system of diplomatic
rank under international
law:
Ambassadors are ministers of the highest rank,
with plenipotentiary
authority to represent their head of state. In modern usage, most
Ambassadors on foreign postings as head of
mission carry the full title of Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary. "Ordinary" Ambassadors and non-plenipotentiary
status are rarely used, although they may be encountered in certain
circumstances.
Moreover, a Resident Ambassador is one who
resides within the country to which (s)he is accredited. A
Non-Resident Ambassador does not reside within the country to which
(s)he is accredited but lives in a nearby country. Thus, a resident
ambassador to a country might at the same time also be a
non-resident ambassador to one or more other countries; this may be
phrased as "Ambassador to" ... "with concurrent accreditation to"
another country.
Among European powers, the
ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary (French ambassadeur
extraordinaire et plénipotentiaire or German außerordentlicher und
bevollmächtigter Botschafter) was historically deemed the personal
representative of the Sovereign, and the custom of dispatching
ambassadors to the head of state rather than the government has
persisted. For example, ambassadors to and from the United
Kingdom are accredited to or from the Royal Court
of St. James's (referring to St.
James's Palace).
Because 33 members of the Commonwealth
of Nations have or had a common head of state, they do not
exchange ambassadors, but instead have High
Commissioners which represent the government, rather than the
head of state. In diplomatic usage, High Commissioner is considered
an equivalent rank and role to an Ambassador.
Ranking below full ambassador are the rank of
Envoy, Minister resident and Chargé
d'affaires. They represent their government rather than their
head of state. For further details, see diplomatic
rank.
While the title generally reflects the
Ambassador's position as head of a diplomatic mission, in some
countries the term may also represent a rank held by career
diplomats, as a matter of internal promotion, regardless of the
posting, and in many national careers it is quite common for them
to be appointed to other functions, especially within the
ministry/ministries in charge of foreign affairs, in some countries
in systematic alteration with actual postings.
The formal form of address for an ambassador is
generally the form that would be used to address a head of state:
"(Your/His/Her) Excellency" followed by name and/or the country
represented. In many countries, less formal variations are
frequently used, such as "Ambassador" followed by name, or the name
followed by "Ambassador of...". In the United States, "Mr.
Ambassador" may be used.
In some countries, a former Ambassador may
continue to be styled and addressed as Ambassador throughout his or
her life (in the United States, "Mr. Ambassador" or equivalent
terms for females may be heard). In other countries, Ambassador is
a title that accrues to the individual only with respect to a
specific position, and may not be used after leaving the position.
Some countries do not use the term while an Ambassador is in the
home country, as the individual is not an Ambassador there; for
example, a Canadian Ambassador while in Canada is not generally
addressed as Ambassador, although he or she may be referred to as
"Canadian Ambassador to ...", that is, with reference to a specific
job function; they are never addressed or styled as Ambassador
after leaving a position or retiring.
Extraordinary postings
Not unlike many diplomats of the lower rank of Resident (Minister) or the usually full rank of high commissioner, or in other circumstances a Consular representative, an ambassador can in specific historical conditions be entrusted with a task that is no less administrative than diplomatic, such as representing the protector in a protectorate of the subordinate kind, e.g. posted by France in the Saar (rather a mandate territory by another name, in part of Germany).Lists of ambassadors
- List of Ambassadors from Angola
- List of Ambassadors from Serbia
- List of Ambassadors from Ethiopia
- List of High Commissioners and Ambassadors from Australia
- List of Ambassadors from Egypt
- List of Ambassadors from Finland
- List of Israeli Ambassadors and List of Israeli ambassadors to the United States
- Ambassadors of the United States
- List of ambassadors to the United States
- List of Ambassadors and High Commissioners to and from New Zealand
- List of Ambassadors and High Commissioners to Canada
- List of Ambassadors and High Commissioners to the United Kingdom
- List of heads of missions from the United Kingdom
- List of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations
Non-diplomatic ambassadorships
In a less formal sense, the word is used for high-profile non-diplomatic representative of various entities (rarely states), mainly cultural and charitable organisations, often as willing figure heads to attract media attention, e.g. film and pop stars makes appeals to the public at large for UNESCO activities (see UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors), sometimes during press-swarmed visits in the field.In French speaking regions such as France,
Wallonia
or Quebec, the title of ''ambassadeur person.
Relevant Books
Rana, K.(2004)."The 21st Century Ambassador: Plenipotentiary to Chief Executive" DiploFoundation ISBN 99909-55-18-2External links
ambassador in Arabic: سفير
ambassador in Bulgarian: Посланик
ambassador in Czech: Vyslanec
ambassador in Danish: Ambassadør
ambassador in German: Botschafter
ambassador in Estonian: Suursaadik
ambassador in Spanish: Embajador
ambassador in Esperanto: Ambasadoro
ambassador in French: Ambassadeur
ambassador in Croatian: Veleposlanik
ambassador in Indonesian: Duta Besar
ambassador in Italian: Ambasciatore
ambassador in Hebrew: שגריר
ambassador in Latvian: Vēstnieks
ambassador in Lithuanian: Ambasadorius
ambassador in Dutch: Ambassadeur
ambassador in Japanese: 大使
ambassador in Norwegian: Ambassadør
ambassador in Polish: Ambasador
ambassador in Russian: Посол
ambassador in Simple English: Ambassador
ambassador in Slovenian: Veleposlanik
ambassador in Finnish: Suurlähettiläs
ambassador in Slovak: Veľvyslanec
ambassador in Swedish: Ambassadör
ambassador in Turkish: Büyükelçi
ambassador in Chinese: 大使
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
agent,
ambassadress,
apostolic delegate, attache, career diplomat,
chancellor, charge, commercial attache,
consul, consul general,
consular agent, delegate, deputy, diplomat, diplomatic, diplomatic agent,
diplomatist,
emissary, envoy, envoy extraordinary,
foreign service officer, internuncio, legate, messenger, military attache,
minister, minister
plenipotentiary, minister resident, nuncio, plenipotentiary,
representative,
resident, secretary of
legation, vice-consul, vice-legate