22 USC 3942 – Appointments by the President
(a)(1) The President may, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an individual as a chief of mission, as an ambassador at large, as an ambassador, as a minister, as a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, or as a Foreign Service officer.
Terms Used In 22 USC 3942
- Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
- chief of mission: means the principal officer in charge of a diplomatic mission of the United States or of a United States office abroad which is designated by the Secretary of State as diplomatic in nature, including any individual assigned under section 3982(c) of this title to be temporarily in charge of such a mission or office. See 22 USC 3902
- Foreign Service: means the Foreign Service of the United States. See 22 USC 3902
- individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
- officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
- Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
(2)(A) The President may, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, confer the personal rank of career ambassador upon a career member of the Senior Foreign Service in recognition of especially distinguished service over a sustained period.
(B)(i) Subject to the requirement of clause (ii), the President may confer the personal rank of ambassador or minister on an individual in connection with a special mission for the President of a temporary nature not exceeding six months in duration.
(ii) The President may confer such personal rank only if, prior to such conferral, he transmits to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a written report setting forth—
(I) the necessity for conferring such rank,
(II) the dates during which such rank will be held,
(III) the justification for not submitting the proposed conferral of personal rank to the Senate as a nomination for advice and consent to appointment, and
(IV) all relevant information concerning any potential conflict of interest which the proposed recipient of such personal rank may have with regard to the special mission.
Such report shall be transmitted not less than 30 days prior to conferral of the personal rank of ambassador or minister except in cases where the President certifies in his report that urgent circumstances require the immediate conferral of such rank.
(C) An individual upon whom a personal rank is conferred under subparagraph (A) or (B) shall not receive any additional compensation solely by virtue of such personal rank.
(3) Except as provided in paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection or in clause 3, section 2, article II of the Constitution (relating to recess appointments), an individual may not be designated as ambassador or minister, or be designated to serve in any position with the title of ambassador or minister, without the advice and consent of the Senate.
(b) If a member of the Service is appointed to any position in the executive branch by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, or by the President alone, the period of service in that position by the member shall be regarded as an assignment under subchapter V and the member shall not, by virtue of the acceptance of such assignment, lose his or her status as a member of the Service. A member of the Senior Foreign Service who accepts such an assignment may elect to continue to receive the salary of his or her salary class, to remain eligible for performance pay under subchapter IV, and to receive the leave to which such member is entitled under subchapter I of chapter 63, title 5, as a member of the Senior Foreign Service, in lieu of receiving the salary and leave (if any) of the position to which the member is appointed by the President.