Chargé d'Affaires

A chargé d'affaires is the diplomat in charge of an embassy in place of an ambassador. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, a chargé d'affaires ad interim fills in temporarily when the ambassador leaves or the post is vacant, usually the deputy chief of mission, a senior career Foreign Service officer. Some countries are deliberately assigned only a chargé, a sign of strained or limited relations.

A chargé has the authority of a chief of mission over embassy staff and can conduct official business, but host governments often give them less access than an ambassador, who is the President's personal representative and has presented credentials to the head of state. Long gaps can weaken an embassy's influence, especially in a crisis, and when an ambassador is recalled, a chargé may run the post for years.

Chargés became unusually common in the second Trump term. In July 2026, 107 of 195 ambassador posts were vacant, about 55 percent, compared with about 22 percent at the same point in the first term, according to the American Foreign Service Association, and 92 of 196 remained unfilled after a round of Senate confirmations on September 30, 2026. Supporters of the administration blamed slow Senate confirmations and holds, while critics blamed the pace of nominations and the recall of career ambassadors.