Career Officers In The Foreign Service - Us State Department (diplomatic, Counselor And Specialist Professional)

The Foreign Service is the State Department agency through which the United States government conducts international affairs. Its trained personnel support the President of the United States and the Secretary of State by participating in the development, implementation, and promotion of US foreign policy and by protecting and advancing American interests abroad. There are two types of overseas posts, diplomatic and consular. Diplomatic missions are embassies, headed by an ambassador who is the personal representative of the United States President and is accredited to the government of the host country. Their primary concern is political relations. A consular officer is appointed to attend to business, commercial, and cultural matters, as well as to handle the concerns of Americans abroad. Consuls are not accredited to the chief of state of the host nation and do not represent the President. Foreign Service Officers and specialists are dispatched to embassies and consulates all over the world.