2. Mr. DOYLEasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what arrangements are made, if any, that Ambassadors and Consular Agents shall be of British birth; if it is insistent that they shall know the language of the country to which they are accredited, and, in the case of Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and their staffs, if commercial knowledge and a broad grasp of the trade in such countries is regarded as essential; how many such representatives have been appointed since the Armistice; how many are of foreign nationality; and to what countries the latter have been appointed?
Mr. HARMSWORTHAs the reply is long, I propose, with the hon. Member's permission, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ The following is the reply referred to:
§ The rule, as regards nationality, applied to candidates for the Diplomatic Service and the Salaried Consular Service, is that they must be natural-born British subjects, and born within the United Kingdom or self-governing Dominions, of parents also born within those territories, but the Secretary of State has power to grant dispensation from this rule when the special circumstances of the case justify departure from it.
217§ As successful candidates are liable to service in many different countries, it is impossible to provide, in the examination, that they shall know the language of every particular country to which they may be sent. It is not essential that Ambassadors should in every case know the language of the country to which they are accredited, but the language qualifications of Consular officers are one of the chief determining factors in the selection of individuals for particular posts.
§ Commercial knowledge has been taken into account in the selection of Consular officers since the Armistice. Entry into the Consular Service by open competitive examination will be reintroduced this year. A special two-year course at the London School of Economics has been arranged for successful candidates.
§ The number of persons appointed since the Armistice to the Diplomatic Service is 59, to the salaried Consular Service is 112, to the unsalaried Consular Service is 74. All are British subjects with the exception that five of the unsalaried Consular officers are of foreign nationality, namely, three Norwegian, one Swiss, and one American, all of whom have been appointed to unsalaried posts in their countries of origin in the absence of a suitable resident British subject.