How do you become an ambassador?

Prokaryotic_crap

Reply 1

fire2burn

Apply at your nearest Job Centre Plus. You need at least a C in GCSE maths and English.

Reply 2

Student2806

There isn't a well tread path to becoming one, but in general getting your foot into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is a good place to start.

Reply 3

dbmag9

http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/The-Fast-Streams/Graduate-Fast-Streams/Diplomatic-Service/

Get a good degree, spend lots of time in Whitehall and embassies around the world.

Eat ferrero rocher.

buy a boat

You must speak both French and English - the languages of diplomacy - and ideally at least one other language, to a very advanced level. This comes on top of academic excellence in a variety of humanities subjects such as politics, geography, history and so forth, and, to an extent, knowing the right people in Whitehall and the diplomatic community.

Spend lots of time travelling; a job that routinely takes you around the world is ideal but so is exploring on your own, particularly in countries that are "out of the way". Someone with an in-depth, first-hand knowledge of another nation is an ideal candidate. Focusing on one country whilst maintaining a wider global perspective and travelling widely seems logical. Working and living full-time somewhere else is really what you want.

Spend a lot of time working either for or with the FCO, other organs of the Civil Service, or the Armed Forces.

Reply 7

Prokaryotic_crap

Original post by dbmag9

http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/The-Fast-Streams/Graduate-Fast-Streams/Diplomatic-Service/

Get a good degree, spend lots of time in Whitehall and embassies around the world.

thank you

Reply 8

FailWhale

ambassadors are usually guys that did the elected leader a big favor as well on top of all that stuff. you can get high in the foreign office with what has been said in this thread (along with good contacts) but you'll never get appointed ambassador without doing someone's dirty laundry.

Reply 9

Comeheretellme

If you're at school then perhaps there's a program which recruits young ambassador? I'm an Anne Frank ambassador and my school recruited me.

Reply 10

JonnyHopeful

Original post by FailWhale

Possibly true for the US where ambassador appointments tend to be external political appointments, but in the FCO ambassadors are almost all career diplomats who've just risen to the top.

Reply 11

Angelic_Suzette

Very interesting, thanks for starting the thread I'm curious as well. It seems like a cool career.

Reply 12

Little Jules

Original post by JonnyHopeful

Possibly true for the US where ambassador appointments tend to be external political appointments, but in the FCO ambassadors are almost all career diplomats who've just risen to the top.

This is really the best post on this thread. In the UK, Ambassadors are almost always from the FCO. So the way to become an Ambassador is to apply to the Civil Service Fast Stream, for the Diplomatic Service, and then to work your way up there.

Ambassadors in the US are political appointments.