Relations with its own Missions

Part 2

Ex.2 Single out the main issues addressed in the text.

Ex.1 List the sections of Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

The prime responsibility of a head of mission is to carry out the instructions of his Ministry and to report back to it the information that he is asked to provide. He is, however, expected to use his initiative in recommending the policy that he thinks his government should adopt, and also in reporting back information that he personally considers significant, whether he has been asked to do so or not. The relationship between Ministry and heads of mission is thus very much a matter of give and take, and the extent to which the Ministry or the mission dominates in the shaping of policy varies from country to country and in accordance with the national requirements and resources.

If policy decisions are reached essentially within the Ministry and the task of the head of mission is mainly that of implementing them, emphasis in terms of numbers of staff (and often ability) is likely to be placed on the Ministry, leaving fewer to serve abroad; but if policy-making is to be influenced strongly by the advice of the heads of mission, then the staff of the Ministry need be relatively few, and the overseas posts may be strongly manned. Staff distribution policy will also determine the length of time that diplomats serve abroad compared with the time that they spend at home, and there is a marked constant not only between the policies of different countries but also between the types of officers: for example, a commercial or press attaché for whom wide local contacts are essential might be of greatest value if his stay in a country were five years or longer, while for an embassy secretary the standard period might be three or four.

The arguments in favor of a diplomat remaining in a post for a lengthy period are:

(a) he – or of course she – (and his/her family) need time to settle down domestically before he can really concentrate on his work;

(b) he will have adequate opportunity of getting to know and understand the country in which he is serving – its language, history, politics and national temperament;

(c) he will have time to make personal contacts and friendships;

(d) there will be a saving for the government of expense on travel and costs of transfer.

The main disadvantage is that he may become emotionally involved in the problems of the country in which he is living and serving, and so be unable to act and advise his own government in a detached and realistic manner. Also he is liable to find himself out of touch with sentiment and events in his own country.

The head of the personnel department has one of the most important tasks in the Ministry, deciding whom to send where and how long. A diplomat is subject to a wide variety of pressures in different posts abroad, and some can cope with particular circumstances better than others: a posting that suits his temperament and personality is in many ways as important as one that suits his ability.

Ex1. Employ the material from the text to answer the following questions:

1. What is the relationship between the head of mission and the Ministry?

2. How does the staff distribution policy work?

3. What are the arguments in favor of a diplomat remaining in a post for a lengthy period?

4. What is the main disadvantage of a lengthy stay of a diplomat abroad?

5. What is the most important task of the head of the personnel department and why?

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