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
She takes over from John McNamara, who had served as chargé d’affaires since February 2025 and traveled to Venezuela in January to discuss the potential reopening of the embassy.
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
He was introduced by the Brazilian chargé d'affaires, in the absence of the Minister Resident, and this semi-official guarantee of his position in Brazil gave him a passport everywhere.
From Mississippi Outlaws and the Detectives Don Pedro and the Detectives; Poisoner and the Detectives by Pinkerton, Allan
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.
