chargé d'affaires
Americannoun
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Also called chargé d'affaires ad interim. an official placed in charge of diplomatic business during the temporary absence of the ambassador or minister.
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an envoy to a state to which a diplomat of higher grade is not sent.
noun
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the temporary head of a diplomatic mission in the absence of the ambassador or minister
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the head of a diplomatic mission of the lowest level
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chargé d'affaires
1760–70; < French: literally, one in charge of things
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As Petro was traveling to Washington, Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim president, met with U.S. chargé d’affaires Laura Dogu to talk about the future.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2026
Her new position as chargé d’affaires augments a career that includes senior roles in hostage recovery for the FBI and as ambassador to Nicaragua and Honduras during periods characterized by social and political volatility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
On Thursday, the U.S. named Laura F. Dogu, a former ambassador to Honduras and Nicaragua, as the new chargé d’affaires for the State Department’s Venezuela Affairs Unit, which is based in Bogotá, Colombia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
Estonia's foreign ministry said it summoned the Russian chargé d'affaires "to lodge a protest" over Friday's incursion, while top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas described the incident as "an extremely dangerous provocation".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
After long delay Whitworth obtained a passport and returned to England, leaving the embassy to a chargé d'affaires, who was peremptorily dismissed by Paul, and left Russia with the embassy in June.
From The Political History of England - Vol. X. The History of England from the Accession of George III to the close of Pitt's first Administration by Poole, Reginald Lane
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
