Every ambassador is a diplomat, but most diplomats are not ambassadors. A diplomat is anyone who officially represents their country’s government abroad. An ambassador is the one diplomat who leads a country’s mission to another country or to an international organization, as the personal representative of its head of state.
The two words get used interchangeably, but they describe different jobs with different levels of authority. Here is how they differ, using the U.S. Foreign Service as the example.
| Diplomat | Ambassador | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Anyone who officially represents their government abroad | The head of a country’s diplomatic mission |
| How many | Many at every mission; hundreds at a large embassy | One per mission |
| How they get the job (U.S.) | Hired, usually through the Foreign Service exam and assessment process | Nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate |
| Reports to | Their supervisor at the mission, and ultimately the ambassador | The President, through the Secretary of State |
| Typical background (U.S.) | Foreign Service Officers and Specialists at every career level | A senior career diplomat, or a political appointee from outside the Foreign Service |
What is a diplomat?
A diplomat is a government official who represents their country abroad: negotiating with foreign governments, reporting on what is happening in the host country, protecting their own citizens, and explaining their country’s policies to the public. Most diplomats work at embassies, consulates, or missions to international organizations, and many rotate between postings overseas and assignments at home.
In the United States, most diplomats are members of the Foreign Service at the Department of State. Foreign Service Officers (generalists) work in one of five career tracks: consular, economic, management, political, or public diplomacy. Foreign Service Specialists run the technology, security, medical, facilities, and administrative backbone of each embassy. Not sure which track fits you? Try our Foreign Service career track quiz.
The day-to-day work varies widely. A diplomat might interview visa applicants in the morning, brief a visiting delegation in the afternoon, and draft a cable on local elections that evening. Others negotiate trade terms, manage an embassy’s budget, run exchange programs, or work with international organizations on issues like global health or security.
Diplomatic officers at an embassy have broad immunity from the host country’s courts under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Consular officers at consulates have a narrower, job-related immunity under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
What is an ambassador?
An ambassador is the highest-ranking diplomat at a mission and the official representative of their country’s head of state to a foreign government or international organization. A U.S. ambassador is the President’s personal representative and the “chief of mission”: by law (22 U.S.C. 3927), they direct and supervise every executive branch employee in the country, not just State Department staff, except troops under a military combatant commander.
What does a U.S. ambassador do?
- Represents the President to the host government, from presenting credentials to the head of state to delivering the toughest messages in person.
- Leads the country team, the heads of every U.S. agency at the embassy (State, Defense attachés, law enforcement, trade, and others), so the U.S. government speaks with one voice.
- Negotiates and advocates for U.S. interests, from trade disputes to security cooperation.
- Protects Americans in the country, including leading the embassy’s response in a crisis or evacuation.
- Runs the mission, with the deputy chief of mission (DCM) managing the embassy day to day.
How many U.S. ambassadors are there?
About 184 posts have their own U.S. ambassador: 171 resident country posts and 13 missions to international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, and the Organization of American States. The State Department’s monthly list shows 206 because it also counts 22 countries covered by an ambassador who lives elsewhere.
Not every post has an ambassador at any given time. In State’s October 8, 2026, report, 114 of the 206 posts (55%) had no sworn-in ambassador: 67 had no nominee, 35 had a nominee awaiting the Senate, and 12 had a confirmed ambassador not yet sworn in. At the same point in the previous two terms, the figure was 30% (November 2018) and 24% (October 2022).
Career vs political ambassadors
U.S. ambassadors come from two pools. Career ambassadors are senior Foreign Service members who rose through the ranks. Political appointees come from outside the Foreign Service: business leaders, former officials, campaign supporters, and others the President chooses.
Over each full presidential term from Carter through Biden, 29% to 40% of ambassadors were non-career, so roughly 1 in 3. The current term is different. About 21 months into each term, non-career appointees made up 38% to 46% of confirmed ambassadors under Reagan through Obama, 50% in Trump’s first term, 56% under Biden, and 82% (72 of 88) in Trump’s second term, as of November 6, 2026.
How are U.S. ambassadors chosen?
- Nomination. The President nominates a candidate for a specific post.
- Certificate of competence. The State Department publishes a certificate describing the nominee’s qualifications, as the Foreign Service Act requires (22 U.S.C. 3944).
- Contribution report. The nominee files a sworn report of federal political contributions by themselves and their immediate family over roughly the previous four years. It is printed in the Congressional Record.
- Senate hearing. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing and votes on the nomination.
- Confirmation. The full Senate confirms. Since September 2025, most ambassadors have been confirmed in en bloc packages rather than one at a time.
- Swearing in and credentials. The ambassador takes the oath, travels to post, and presents credentials to the host country’s head of state.
How much do U.S. ambassadors make?
By law, the President sets each ambassador’s pay at a rate on the Executive Schedule, from level V to level II (22 U.S.C. 3961). Career ambassadors can keep their Senior Foreign Service pay instead. For what diplomats earn at every other level, see our Foreign Service Officer salary guide.
Other kinds of ambassadors
Some U.S. ambassadors do not lead an embassy. Ambassadors-at-large are based in Washington and handle a global issue, such as international religious freedom, rather than a country. And “brand ambassadors” or “goodwill ambassadors” are not diplomats at all; the word is borrowed.
Diplomat vs ambassador vs consul
A consul is a diplomat who works at a consulate, a smaller office in a city outside the capital, serving their own citizens and handling visas. A consul general leads a consulate general and reports to the ambassador. So in a U.S. mission, the ambassador leads the embassy in the capital and the whole mission in the country, and consuls run the offices elsewhere.
How to become a diplomat
Most U.S. diplomats join the Foreign Service through the Foreign Service Officer Test, a written exercise and personal narratives, and the oral assessment. Start here:
- How to become a Foreign Service Officer: the full process, step by step
- Should I join the Foreign Service? Pros and cons
- How to study for the Foreign Service Officer Test
- FSO Compass: prep for every stage of the process
How to become an ambassador
There are two routes to becoming a U.S. ambassador:
- The career route. Join the Foreign Service, earn tenure, get promoted into the Senior Foreign Service, and serve as a deputy chief of mission. The DCM job is the usual stepping stone: 72% of career ambassador nominations since 2014 went to someone who had been a DCM, according to State Department certificates. Every career track has produced ambassadors, consular included.
- The political route. The President appoints someone from outside the Foreign Service, often a business leader, former official, or campaign supporter. Political appointees serve at the President’s pleasure and usually leave when the administration changes.
Either way, the nominee must be confirmed by the Senate. For the numbers behind the career path, see our career ambassador data.
For a deeper look, Dennis C. Jett, a former U.S. ambassador to Mozambique and Peru, wrote American Ambassadors: A Guide for Aspiring Diplomats and Foreign Service Officers. It covers how ambassadors are chosen, what the job involves, and how the career and political routes compare.
The bottom line
“Diplomat” is the profession; “ambassador” is the top job in it. Thousands of U.S. diplomats serve overseas, and there are only about 184 ambassador posts. If you want to become either one, the path starts with the Foreign Service.
Ambassador figures are as of State’s October 8, 2026, report and Senate records through November 6, 2026.