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An ambassador-at-large is a diplomat, a secretary, or a minister of the highest rank who is accredited to represent a country and its people internationally.

Unlike an ambassador-in-residence, who is usually limited to a country or embassy, the ambassador-at-large is entrusted to operate in several usually neighboring countries, a region or sometimes hold a seat in an international organization like the United Nations and the other international organizations. In some cases, an ambassador-at-large may even be specifically assigned a role to advise and assist the state or a government in particular issues. Historically, presidents or prime ministers have designated special diplomatic envoys for specific assignments, primarily overseas but sometimes also within the country as an ambassador-at-large.

Honorific title

According to international protocol, ambassadors and ambassadors-at-large are officially styled and addressed as His/Her Excellency, or Mister/Madam Ambassador. The title may be abbreviated in official correspondence as H.E.

United States ambassadors-at-large

The US president appointed the first official who specifically bore the title of ambassador-at-large on 12 March 1949 under the authority vested in Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution to deal with specific foreign policy issues, which have been frequently spelled out in their commissions.

Ambassador-at-large positions in the diplomatic corps of the US State Department include:

• Coordinator for Counterterrorism
• United States Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs
• United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice
• United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues
• United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
• United States Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
• United States Global AIDS Coordinator

Notable ambassadors-at-large

Asia

• Princess Masna Bolkiah, Brunei's Ambassador-at-Large and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Mehdi Samii, Iranian ambassador-at-large for Economic affairs and Advisor to the Prime Minister for International Financing (1971–1973)
• Lon Non, Ambassador-at-Large for the Khmer Republic
• Mohammad Ziauddin, Ambassador-at-large of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh
• Javed Malik, Pakistan's Ambassador-at-Large to the Persian gulf Region
• Carlos P. Romulo, President of the United Nations General Assembly (1949–1950), Secretary/Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador-at-Large under three Philippine Presidents: Elpidio Quirino (1950–1952), Diosdado Macapagal (1963–1964) and Ferdinand Marcos (1968–1984)
• León María Guerrero III, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs under Ramon Magsaysay (1953–1954) and Ambassador-at-Large under four Philippine Presidents: Ramon Magsaysay (1954–1957), Carlos P. Garcia (1957–1961), Diosdado Macapagal (1961–1965) and Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965–1980)
• Chan Heng Chee, Ambassador-at-Large representing Singapore and former ambassador to the United States from 1996 to 2012
• Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large of Singapore
• Ong Keng Yong, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore and former Secretary-General of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• Gopinath Pillai, former Ambassador-at-Large of Singapore
• Gene Loh, Ambassador-at-Large of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 1997 to 2001
• Audrey Tang, Cyber Ambassador-at-Large of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and former Minister of Digital Affairs
• Ahmet Davutoğlu, Formerly Ambassador-at-Large of Turkey; he subsequently served as Foreign Minister and Prime Minister

Europe

• Charles Aznavour, Franco-Armenian singer, Armenian Ambassador-at-Large to Switzerland, then to the United Nations Organization
• Petri Salo, Finland's Roving Ambassador for the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia)
• Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador-at-Large of Hellenic Republic, Vice President of the European Parliament and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece
• Georg von Habsburg, Ambassador-at-Large of Hungary
• Dame Nuala O'Loan, of Ireland. Roving Ambassador for Conflict Resolution and Special Envoy to Timor-Leste
• Jaroslaw Pijarowski, Ambassador-at-Large of International Human Rights Organization for Poland
• Jacques Valade, Ambassador-at-Large of France for decentralized cooperation in Asia, from 2008 to 2015.

Africa

• Nicolas Kazadi, Ambassador-at-Large for the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Amina Mohammed, Ambassador-at-large representing Kenya
• Lineo Ntoane, Kingdom of Lesotho Ambassador-at-large
• Princess Esther Kamatari, Ambassador-at-large representing Burundi

Americas

• Chavano "Buddy" Hield, Ambassador-at-Large for The Bahamas
• Robyn Rihanna Fenty, Ambassador-at-Large for Barbados
• Attallah Shabazz, Ambassador-at-Large for Belize
• Oscar de la Renta, Ambassador-at-Large of the Dominican Republic
• Wyclef Jean, Ambassador-at-Large for Haiti
• Barbara Carrera, former Ambassador-at-large for Nicaragua, appointed by then-president Arnoldo Alemán
• Suzan Johnson Cook, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
• Henry A. Crumpton, Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State
• Eric Goosby, United States Global AIDS Coordinator (Ambassador-at-Large for HIV and AIDS)
• John Hanford, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
• Philip Jessup, former United States Ambassador-at-large under President Harry S. Truman
• Strobe Talbott, US Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary on the New Independent States

See also

• Dual accreditation

References

1. The Guide of the Modern Diplomatic Protocol
2. Milani, Abbas (2008). Eminent Persians: The Men and Women who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979. Vol. 1. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. pp. 766–767. ISBN 978-0815609070.
3. "CHAN Heng Chee". 9 October 2015.
4. "Live Mint". Live Mint. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
5. Chu, Monique (18 April 2002). "Veteran diplomat tells it like it was". Taipei Times. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
6. Scanlan, Sean (8 October 2024). "Taiwan President Lai Ching-te appoints new ambassadors-at-large". Taiwan News. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
7. "Roving Ambassador for South Caucasus –". Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. 18 October 2012. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
8. "The Habsburgs' new empire: The princess and the bear". The Economist. 20 February 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
9. "New Roving Ambassador Nuala O' Loan to Travel to Timor". Irish embassy. 10 March 2008. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
10. "International Human Rights Organization". yt.com. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
11. "Chavano "Buddy" Hield Appointed Ambassador At-Large For Sports And Cultural Development". mofa.gov.bs. 16 February 2024.
12. "Rihanna's officially titled 'right excellent,' named Barbados national hero". PBS NewsHour. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
13. "Rihanna appointed ambassador for her native Barbados". The Guardian. Press Association. 22 September 2018. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
14. Mower, Sarah (2002). Oscar: The Style, Inspiration and Life of Oscar De La Renta. New York: Assouline. p. 12.
15. "Biography: Henry A. Crumpton". US Department of State Archives. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
16. "Goosby, Eric". State. 23 June 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
17. "Strobe Talbott: Richard von Weizsäcker Distinguished Visitor – Class of Spring 2009". American Academy in Berlin. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.

• Ambassadors
• Diplomats by role