The rotations of career ambassadors are usually not affected by a change of administrations. The nine career Biden nominees will fill vacancies not related to the transfer of power in Washington. Currently, 89 of total ambassadorial positions are without a nominee. So why does it take so long for ambassadorial nominations to be announced, and then for nominees to be confirmed?
The answer lies in a mix of legal requirements, a cumbersome government bureaucracy and, not surprisingly, politics. The White House usually starts the process by compiling two lists, several former ambassadors said. The other list is of countries to which the White House wants to send non-career ambassadors. Courville was among the few foreign policy experts to become a political ambassador. A retired civil servant and former university professor, she was the senior director for African affairs at the National Security Council when she was offered the post at the African Union in Email field is required to subscribe.
If red flags are found, the name can be withdrawn. Even if the White House produces a list of potential nominees quickly, the formal vetting can take months, Courville said. Candidates must disclose financial holdings and liabilities, work and travel history, as well as provide the names of friends and colleagues to be interviewed.
If a nominee owns a large company, it takes even longer to figure out what to do with those assets, Courville added. Career nominees have usually undergone such investigations long before they are nominated.
First, the State Department has to wait for the White House to decide which countries will be available to professional diplomats. Then senior Foreign Service officers make their interest in particular positions known, and the ensuing competition can take months. Matthew Bryza, another former Foreign Service officer who was ambassador to Azerbaijan, said that the competition is fierce. Both career and political nominees could wait for months to get a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and even longer for a vote in the full Senate.
Because of their unique relationship with the host nation, ambassadors are able to help in the development of foreign policy with that nation. All of these actions are meant to protect their home country's interests within the host nation.
Another responsibility of an ambassador is to act as a representative of their country of origin. As a representative, they offer up their home country's position on many political, social, and economic platforms.
They also meet with important political leaders and greet or host other diplomats. Ambassadors also help travellers from their home country, explain foreign policy and evacuate refugees from dangerous situations.
Because of the sensitive nature of their careers, ambassadors carry out their duties with a diplomatic demeanour, with the goal of keeping a positive relationship between the country that is hosting them and their home nation.
Ambassadors have distinct personalities. They are unstructured, original, nonconforming, and innovative. Does this sound like you? Take our free career test to find out if ambassador is one of your top career matches.
Ambassadors try to smooth out the relationship between countries. They do this by attending treaty negotiations, immigration discussions, international meetings which may include humanitarian aid programs or foreign aid projects , banquets, and parties. Ambassadors spend most of their time in meetings with either staff members, foreign diplomats or host country officials. They also spend a lot of time in an office, writing up reports and implementing international programs.
The working environment varies from country to country. An ambassador in poor countries may suffer through conditions they find extreme if coming from a wealthy country.
In war-torn countries, though ambassadors are well-protected, they may encounter dangerous situations during the course of their stay. Ambassadors may also be placed in wealthy countries, but may have to deal with tense relations between that country and their own. In countries where international relationships are positive, ambassadors will benefit from a more regular work week.
Because there is no singular path to becoming an ambassador, stating definitively the length of time that it takes to do so is difficult, if not impossible. It is, however, possible to consider the most common route to an ambassadorship and estimate the timeframe to reach this highest level of diplomatic service.
Others may be career diplomats and occupy multiple positions in the Foreign Service over as long as twenty or thirty years before becoming an ambassador. Ambassadors rank in the 82nd percentile of careers for satisfaction scores. Please note that this number is derived from the data we have collected from our Sokanu members only.
While the demands of this career are considerable, its striking happiness metric is not unexpected. As high-ranking diplomats, ambassadors enjoy many benefits: world travel, exposure to numerous cultures, opportunities to represent their country on the world stage, job satisfaction in managing often challenging situations, above-average remuneration, and prestige.
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