chargé d'affaires

American  

[shahr-zhay duh-fair, shahr-zhay, shar-zhay da-fer] / ʃɑrˈʒeɪ dəˈfɛər, ˈʃɑr ʒeɪ, ʃar ʒeɪ daˈfɛr /

noun

Government.

• chargés d'affaires
  plural

1. Also called chargé d'affaires ad interim. an official placed in charge of diplomatic business during the temporary absence of the ambassador or minister.

2. an envoy to a state to which a diplomat of higher grade is not sent.

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chargé d'affaires British  

/ ˈʃɑːʒeɪ dæˈfɛə, ʃarʒe dafɛr /

noun

1. the temporary head of a diplomatic mission in the absence of the ambassador or minister

2. the head of a diplomatic mission of the lowest level

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chargés d'affaires
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of chargé d'affaires

1760–70; < French: literally, one in charge of things

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chargé d'affaires

Iran summoned the Ukrainian chargé d’affaires in Tehran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

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

Estonia's foreign ministry said it had summoned Russia's chargé d'affaires and said it was treating the move as a "provocative border incident".

From BBC ● May 24, 2024

Owing to the fact that he only ranked as chargé d'affaires, and that his appointment only dated from Dr. Dumba's departure, he was not empowered to enter into negotiations.

From My Three Years in America by Johann Heinrich Andreas Hermann Albrecht Graf von Bernstorff

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