Internationally recognised diplomatic ranks were agreed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
Ambassador is the most senior diplomatic rank, and ambassadors are formal representatives of the Head of State.
In Commonwealth countries, the equivalent of the ambassador is normally the high commissioner.
The collective term for a group of diplomats residing in another county is a diplomatic mission. Any diplomat who heads a diplomatic mission is known as chief of mission or head of mission. They are normally ambassadors.
A diplomatic mission headed by an ambassador is known as an embassy; a diplomatic mission headed by a high commissioner is known as a high commission.
Most ambassadors represent their government in a single country; ‘ambassadors-at-large’ work in several (normally neighbouring) countries, or represent their nation at intergovernmental organisations.
Below the ambassador in the diplomatic hierarchy come the following: minister; minister-counsellor; counsellor; first secretary; second secretary; third secretary; attaché; assistant attaché.
In the absence of an ambassador or a senior diplomat, a chargé d’affaires will temporarily head the diplomatic mission. At formal events, the chargé d’affaires has a lower precedence than the ambassador.
Attachés are generally staff, acting in an advisory or administrative capacity, who are not members of their country’s diplomatic service, and are therefore temporarily ‘attached’ to the mission.
A consul is appointed to represent the government of one state in the territory of another, and is responsible for looking after the welfare of the citizens of his/her own country in a foreign land. A consul differs from an ambassador, who represents his/ her head of state in a foreign country, and is concerned with diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Consuls are based in consulates (which may be within the embassy itself).
Foreign Ambassador Accredited to the United Kingdom
An ambassador accredited to the Court of St James's is accorded the style of ‘His/Her Excellency’ within the United Kingdom and Colonies.
It is always correct to describe an ambassador by name, adding the country after the name.
For example, ‘His Excellency M Maurice Dansey, the French Ambassador’.
It is correct, and often preferable, to use the adjectival form, if it is of long established use, for example ‘His Excellency the Spanish Ambassador’. There is, however, a growing use of the name of the country in place of its adjectival equivalent, as for example ‘The Jordan Ambassador’ rather than ‘The Jordanian Ambassador’.
‘Netherlands’ is used in diplomatic circles in preference to ‘Dutch’.
If in doubt, check with the secretary of the ambassador in question.
In a letter to an ambassador, it is usual to mention ‘Your Excellency’ in the opening and closing paragraphs. In a long letter, further references may be made to ‘you’ or ‘your’.
For precedence within the diplomatic corps, see the London Diplomatic List, published by The Stationery Office, or click here for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website.
A British ambassador accredited to a foreign country is known as ‘His/Her Excellency’ within the country to which he/she has been accredited (and often by courtesy when travelling outside it on duty), but not in the United Kingdom.
An ambassador who is head of a United Kingdom mission abroad (eg to the United Nations) is styled ‘His/Her Excellency’.A female ambassador is called ambassador, and not ambassadress. Her husband is not accorded any style as such.
A commonwealth high commissioner in the United Kingdom is accorded the same style and precedence as an ambassador.
It is always correct to describe the high commissioner by name, adding the country after the name, for example, ‘His Excellency Mr Pat Ayres, High Commissioner for* Australia’. If in doubt, check with the secretary of the high commissioner in question.
In a letter to a high commissioner, it is usual to mention ‘Your Excellency’ in the opening and closing paragraphs. In a long letter, further references may be made to ‘you’ or ‘your’.
| Salutation | Sign Off | Envelope | Verbal Address | Conversation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambassador (formal) | Your Excellency | I have the honour to be, with the highest consideration, Your Excellency’s obedient servant | His Excellency The Ambassador of Norway or His Excellency Mr Mathias Bergen | Your Excellency should be mentioned at least once in conversation, and thereafter Sir or Ma’am or by name | His Excellency |
| Ambassador (social) | Dear Ambassador | Yours sincerely | His Excellency The Ambassador of Norway or His Excellency Mr Mathias Bergen | Ambassador or by name | The Norwegian Ambassador or The Ambassador of Norway or by name |
| High Commissioner (formal) | Your Excellency | I have the honour to be Your Excellency’s obedient servant | Her Excellency The High Commissioner of South Africa or Her Excellency Miss Elizabeth Port | Your Excellency should be mentioned at least once in conversation, and thereafter Sir or Ma’am or by name | Her Excellency |
| High Commissioner (social) | Dear High Commissioner | Yours sincerely | Her Excellency The High Commissioner of South Africa or Her Excellency Miss Elizabeth Port | High Commissioner or by name | The South African High Commissioner or The High Commissioner of South Africa or by name |
A governor-general or governor is styled ‘His/Her Excellency’, which precedes all other titles and ranks, while administering a government and within the territory administered.
The lieutenant-governors of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are accorded the same style. Their wives/husbands have no formal style.
It is interesting to note that British Overseas Territories are administered by a governor, not a governor-general, and usually, although not invariably, a senior retired member of the armed forces.
The Governor-General of Canada also has the rank of ‘Rt Hon’ for life, and his/her spouse is accorded the style of ‘His/Her Excellency’ within the country administered by the Governor- General, but this does not apply to the spouse of a governor.
The Governor-General of Australia is accorded the style of ‘His/ Her Excellency’ and the spouse/partner is also accorded the style of ‘His/Her Excellency’ within the country administered by the Governor-General.
A lieutenant-governor of a Canadian province is accorded the style of ‘The Honourable’ for life. At the present time there are lieutenant-governors for the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
Northwest Territories, Nunavut (previously part of Northwest Territories) and Yukon each have a commissioner, who is also accorded the style of ‘The Honourable’ for life.
A consul-general, consul or vice-consul who holds His Majesty’s Commission is entitled to the letters ‘HM’ before the appointment.
Other consuls, vice-consuls and consular agents, appointed other than by the Crown, are known as the British consul, vice-consul, etc, and do not have the prefix ‘HM’.
An officer in charge of a consular appointment, during the absence of the incumbent, takes for the time being the rank of the incumbent, but is addressed as ‘The Acting British Consul- General, Consul’, etc.
Consuls of the other Commonwealth countries are addressed as ‘The Australian Consul’, etc.
Most States in Australia are represented in London by an agentgeneral.
An agent-general is not accorded any special form of address, but his/her appointment should be placed after his/her name. For example:
Lucy Mercer, Agent-General for ......
Agents-general for the States of Australia should be placed as
follows:
- Victoria
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Western Australia
New South Wales and Tasmania are no longer represented. No Canadian provinces are represented by agents-general at the present time, although Quebec has a government office in London.
