Accreditation of an ambassador

Accreditation procedure for an extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador

Any candidacy for a post of extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador has to emanate from a diplomatic mission. This request for certification comprises a verbal note in French, English or German accompanied by the candidate’s curriculum vitae. For a non-resident ambassador, a candidacy may only be presented if the candidate has already been agreed by the country of residence.

The Directorate of Protocol passes the request for certification to the Grand-Ducal Palace.

Once the Marshall of the Court’s response has been received, the Directorate of Protocol informs the diplomatic mission by verbal note if His Royal Highness the Grand Duke has bestowed his approval on  the foreign government’s choice.

Once informed of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke’s agreement, it is incumbent on the diplomatic mission to submit the request for presentation of the Letters of Credence to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke by verbal note to the Directorate of Protocol. Once again, a non-resident ambassador will be unable to lodge this request until he has presented the Letters of Credence to the Head of State of the country of residence, with the date of presentation of the Letters of Credence in the country of residence required to be communicated to the Directorate of Protocol.

The Directorate of Protocol passes the request for an audience to present the Letters to the Grand-Ducal Palace.

The sending State takes the necessary steps for drawing up the future ambassador’s Letters of Credence and, as the case may be, his predecessor’s Letters of Recall.

The Grand-Ducal Palace sets a date for the presentation of the Letters of Credence to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke, and the Directorate of Protocol undertakes to inform the diplomatic missions accordingly. On that date, five ambassadors, typically, present their Letters one after the other to the Head of State in a separate audience.

According to custom in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the accreditation of an extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador takes place over two days as a matter of course. The first day is set aside for the courtesy call to the Marshal of the Court and for the handing over of copies of the Letters to the Chief of Protocol. The second day is set aside for the handing over of the originals of the Letters to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke at the Grand Ducal Palace.

The Directorate of Protocol approaches the diplomatic missions according to the established order of precedence to compile the list of heads of mission taking part in the next audience. The ambassador’s precedence is determined by the date of the verbal note sent to the ministry requesting the audience to present the Letters of Credence to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke.