History of the Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is the main system that works with personnel under the Diplomatic Service area of the government of the United States. This system of personnel emerged because of the Foreign Service Act, which authorizes the U.S. Secretary of State to designate diplomats for assignment in foreign countries. Foreign Service officers are chosen through a series of exams, both oral and written, to serve tours at any United States embassy, Diplomatic Mission, or Consulate around the world. They may also work in any agencies for foreign affairs. Foreign Service officers are representatives of the U.S., implement its foreign policy, and aid it citizens in other countries.
In September of 1789, the Department of State was created by congress to keep the Great Seal of the U.S. The Diplomatic Service, which provided ministers and ambassadors to overseas embassies; and the Consular Service, which assigned consuls for commerce, developed as a separate group.
1924’s Rogers Act combined the Consular and Diplomatic services into what is now known as the Foreign Service. United States ambassadors have mostly originated from the Foreign Service, with the remaining fraction being appointed by the President. The Board of Examiners of the Foreign Service and the Board of the Foreign Service were also created to manage the Foreign Service testing process and advise the Secretary of State on Foreign Service management, respectively.
In 1946, the Foreign Service Act was passed at the Department of State’s request. The act created three kinds of Foreign Service employees, classified according to purpose: Officers, Reservists, and Staff. Officers had to spend most of their working career in foreign lands, as commissioned U.S. officers who could be assigned anywhere in the world. Reservists were officers mostly based in Washington, although they could be called on for Foreign Service assignments abroad. Foreign Service Staff comprised clerical positions and support. The system was meant to remove the line between civil service and Foreign Service employees, which had long been an origin of friction. The act also removed diplomatic status from commerce and USDA representatives abroad, as commercial and agricultural attaches were selected by those from the Department of State.
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 overhauled the aforementioned approach, which was not entirely successful. Congress reverted the commercial attaches to Foreign Service Officers, along with attaches from the Department of Agriculture, USIA, and USAID.
This legislative reform is the most recent and significant reform to the Foreign Service. It eliminated the FSR, or “reserve” category for Foreign Service employees, and reworked the system of personnel for locally-employed individuals in overseas projects. The rank of Senior Foreign Service officer was also created, which was parallel to flag-rank officers and generals of the Navy and military. Hazard pay was also exacted for diplomats on tour in hostile countries, as well as numerous changes to the administrative processes.
The 1980 act also reinstated the Board of Foreign Service to include representatives from the Department of State, Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor; the United States Information Agency and International Development Cooperation Agency, the Office of Budget and Management; and other agencies the President may choose to appoint.
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