305:
Executive
Service, which had been formed a few years prior. The 1980 Act describes the Senior Foreign Service as the "corps of leaders and experts for the management of the Service and the performance of its functions." The Act provides, moreover, that for promotion into and within the Senior Foreign Service, the precepts used by selection boards (the bodies responsible for recommending promotions and involuntary separations of underperformers) "shall emphasize performance which demonstrates the strong policy formulation capabilities, executive leadership qualities, and highly developed functional and area expertise" requisite for these positions.
286:"was first established by an Act of Congress on Aug 5, 1955, as an amendment to the Foreign Service Act of 1946. Under its provisions, the President with the advice and consent of the Senate was empowered to appoint individuals to the class who had (1) served at least 15 years in a position of responsibility in a government agency, including at least 3 years as a Career Minister; (2) rendered exceptionally distinguished service to the government; and (3) met other requirements prescribed by the Secretary of State."
135:
especially distinguished service over a sustained period." Otherwise, the 1980 Act states the
President shall "prescribe salary classes for the Senior Foreign Service and shall prescribe an appropriate title for each class." President Ronald Reagan established the other three Senior Foreign Service ranks with
308:
In addition to their eligibility to serve in ambassadorships, SFS officers serve in senior positions in U.S. diplomatic missions (e.g., as deputy chief of mission, as head of section in a large embassy, or as consul general in a large consulate general) as well as in headquarters positions in their
321:
In order to be promoted into the Senior
Foreign Service, an FS-1 Foreign Service Officer or Specialist must "open his/her window", that is, must formally request in writing consideration for promotion into the Senior Foreign Service. This application starts a clock; if the officer is not promoted
295:
with its three "supergrades" (GS-16 through GS-18) was created, and then following creation of the Senior
Executive Service in 1978, however, Foreign Service Officers in senior policy positions found themselves regularly equated to mid-level counterparts in the military and the civil service. The
261:
Prior to creation of the Senior
Foreign Service (i.e., prior to implementation of the Foreign Service Act of 1980) Career Ministers were paid at the same rate as Class 1 Foreign Service Officers. In 1979, an FSO-1 earned from $ 61,903 to $ 65,750 per annum, with the caveat that civil service and
325:
Like the rest of the
Foreign Service, as well as their military counterparts, Senior Foreign Service officers are subject to time-in-class provisions. If not promoted within a specific "time in class" for the rank encumbered, the officer is mandatorily retired. The time in class for each grade
134:
Only one of these ranks, Career
Ambassador, is established by law. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 stipulates, "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
304:
The intent of the
Foreign Service Act of 1980 in establishing the Senior Foreign Service was to create a cadre of senior, policy-level foreign affairs professionals on a par with the senior, policy-level officers of the military and naval establishments, and with the civil service-based Senior
278:
had established a grade system from FSS-22 up to FSO-1. A single "senior" grade, Career
Minister, was established by the 1946 Act for Foreign Service Officers who had served with noteworthy distinction in ambassadorships or other, equivalent positions (usually as Assistant Secretary or Under
214:(SES) pay system. SFS members, like SES members, are not entitled to automatic across-the-board increases and locality-based comparability payments. Instead, pay adjustments are based on a member's individual performance and/or contribution to the agency's performance.
290:
Ambassadors were appointed as a rule from the ranks of FSO-2s and FSO-1s, with very senior ambassadorships going to the relatively rare Career
Ministers and exceedingly rare Career Ambassadors. Following reform of the civil service in 1949, when the
262:
Foreign Service salaries were capped at $ 50,112.50 per annum, equal to the pay rate for Level V of the Executive Schedule, per Section 5308 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code. The top theoretical annual salary, $ 65,750, was equal to that of a GS-18.
326:
varies both by grade and by foreign affairs agency, and is established by agency regulation. Times in class are now cumulative, so that early promotion to higher grades no longer leads to rapid retirement of rapidly rising officers.
252:
Minister-Counselor (MC) with a range from 90 percent of the rate payable to level III of the Executive Schedule to 100 percent of the rate payable to level III of the Executive Schedule; and
55:
The four grades, from highest to lowest, with their military and former Senior Executive Service equivalents (i.e., prior to the SES's shift to an open-range compensation system), are:
151:, Career Ministers of the Senior Foreign Service are to be accorded the honorific "The Honorable". Career Ambassadors, as ambassadors, are accorded the honorific "Her/His Excellency".
322:
into the Senior Foreign Service within a specific number of convocations of Selection Boards (set by regulation in each foreign affairs agency), the officer is mandatorily retired.
343:
74:
866:
257:
Counselor (OC), with a range from 120 percent of the rate payable to GS–15, step 1 to 100 percent of the rate payable to level III of the Executive Schedule.
991:
225:
Career Minister (CM) with a pay cap equal to the rate of pay for ES-II (Note: Career Ambassador (CA) SFS members are also paid within the CM rate range);
64:
996:
329:
These stipulations ensure flow-through of the senior ranks of the service, a specific goal of the rank-in-person Foreign Service personnel system.
981:
47:. Like military ranks and other Foreign Service ranks, the Senior Foreign Service grade system assigns rank in person, not rank in position.
986:
955:
929:
275:
489:
279:
Secretary of State). Since Career Ministers were paid at the same rate as senior FSO-1s, however, the "promotion" was merely symbolic.
362:
310:
846:
881:
706:
596:
577:
666:
645:
626:
908:
514:
939:
679:
296:
1980 Act sought in part to redress this imbalance in perceived status versus level of authority and responsibility.
891:
558:
934:
901:
896:
36:
28:
448:
851:
210:
The Senior Foreign Service pay system is an open-range, performance-based pay system that is linked to the
699:
217:
As amended under 5 U.S.C. 5376, Executive Order 12293 prescribes three SFS salary classes linked to the
876:
861:
794:
809:
799:
674:
211:
136:
44:
32:
886:
841:
819:
804:
239:
The Executive Order originally prescribed three SFS salary classes linked to the SES as follows:
913:
871:
856:
814:
692:
768:
486:
826:
370:
243:
Career Minister (CM) with a range from 94 percent of the rate payable to level III of the
230:
Minister-Counselor (MC) with a pay cap equal to 1.07 times the rate of pay for ES-III; and
221:, ranging from 120 percent of the pay rate for a GS-15, step 1 to the pay rate for ES-II:
8:
836:
976:
244:
218:
734:
641:
622:
292:
493:
338:
94:
778:
80:
661:
970:
773:
758:
729:
715:
235:
Counselor (OC) with a pay cap equal to 1.02 times the rate of pay for ES-III.
122:
108:
43:
in the military and naval establishments, respectively, and to grades in the
40:
754:
638:
Protocol: The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official & Social Usage
411:
Protocol: The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official & Social Usage
149:
Protocol: The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official & Social Usage
749:
739:
473:
422:
247:
to 100 percent of the rate payable to level II of the Executive Schedule;
449:"United States Department of State 2022 Foreign Service Salary Schedule"
744:
271:
763:
31:. These ranks were created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and
831:
684:
619:
Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service
35:
in order to provide the Foreign Service with senior grades
270:
Prior to passage of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, the
616:
487:
United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions
344:
List of United States Foreign Service career ambassadors
680:
Text of Executive Order 12293 at the National Archives
363:"Senior Executive Service Pay and Performance Awards"
621:. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
968:
316:
391:Foreign Service Act of 1980, Section 302(2)(A)
700:
617:Kopp, Harry W.; Charles A. Gillespie (2008).
956:Civil service reform in developing countries
466:
992:United States Department of State officials
675:Text of Executive Order 12293 on Wikisource
525:Foreign Service Act of 1980, Section 103(3)
707:
693:
667:United States Code, Title 22, Chapter 52
635:
997:1980 establishments in the United States
400:Foreign Service Act of 1980, Section 402
594:
575:
556:
982:Foreign relations of the United States
969:
27:) comprises the top four ranks of the
688:
515:State Department: Career Ambassadors.
505:Department of State Salary Chart 1979
16:Top 4 ranks of the US Foreign Service
588:
569:
550:
537:
987:Military ranks of the United States
454:. United States Department of State
367:U.S. Office of Personnel Management
13:
930:National civil service commissions
50:
14:
1008:
714:
655:
528:
519:
508:
499:
480:
441:
415:
403:
394:
385:
355:
282:The rank of Career Ambassador
1:
636:McCaffree, Mary Jane (2002).
610:
557:Schmick, Henry (April 2010).
474:"State Department Pay Scales"
317:Eligibility and time in class
29:United States Foreign Service
595:Schmick, Henry (July 2010).
299:
154:
7:
662:Foreign Service Act of 1980
576:Schmick, Henry (May 2010).
332:
276:Foreign Service Act of 1946
142:
10:
1013:
603:. Foreign Service Journal.
584:. Foreign Service Journal.
565:. Foreign Service Journal.
429:. U.S. Department of State
265:
105:Minister Counselor (FE-MC)
948:
922:
787:
722:
147:According to McCaffree's
940:Civil service by country
349:
311:foreign affairs agencies
212:Senior Executive Service
65:Equivalent military rank
45:Senior Executive Service
187:Minister Counselor (MC)
91:Career Minister (FE-CM)
935:Government occupations
640:. Durban House Press.
369:. 2004. Archived from
288:
21:Senior Foreign Service
769:Public administration
597:"Up or Out, Part III"
284:
274:and subsequently the
137:Executive Order 12293
33:Executive Order 12293
788:By country/territory
578:"Up or Out, Part II"
543:Kopp and Gillespie,
198:Career Minister (CM)
39:to general and flag
534:22 U.S. Code § 4003
427:Diplomacy in Action
161:
160:2022 SFS Pay Range
492:2009-08-07 at the
245:Executive Schedule
219:Executive Schedule
159:
964:
963:
735:Government agency
647:978-1-930754-18-8
628:978-1-58901-219-6
208:
207:
132:
131:
128:ES-1, ES-2, ES-3
119:Counselor (FE-OC)
75:Career Ambassador
69:Former SES grade
1004:
902:Northern Ireland
709:
702:
695:
686:
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632:
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669:Foreign Service
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601:V.P. Voice: FAS
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582:V.P. Voice: FAS
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563:V.P. Voice: FAS
555:
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494:Wayback Machine
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339:Diplomatic rank
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95:Three-star rank
53:
51:Grade structure
17:
12:
11:
5:
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656:External links
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81:Four-star rank
78:
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52:
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15:
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3:
2:
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790:
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780:
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774:Public policy
772:
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767:
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760:
759:Spoils system
756:
753:
751:
748:
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743:
741:
738:
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733:
731:
730:Public sector
728:
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721:
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716:Civil service
710:
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691:
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665:
663:
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649:
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598:
591:
583:
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572:
564:
560:
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531:
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373:on 2018-03-31
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123:One-star rank
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110:
109:Two-star rank
107:
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90:
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68:
66:
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60:
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56:
48:
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34:
30:
26:
22:
952:
755:Merit system
668:
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618:
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571:
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510:
501:
482:
468:
456:. Retrieved
443:
433:18 September
431:. Retrieved
426:
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396:
387:
375:. Retrieved
371:the original
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54:
24:
20:
18:
867:New Zealand
750:Technocracy
740:Bureaucracy
559:"Up or Out"
409:McCaffree,
309:respective
114:ES-4, ES-5
971:Categories
923:Categories
800:Bangladesh
745:Bureaucrat
611:References
496:, page 208
272:Rogers Act
204:$ 203,700
193:$ 200,411
182:$ 191,046
37:equivalent
977:Diplomacy
953:See also:
892:Sri Lanka
887:Singapore
820:Hong Kong
795:Australia
547:, pp. 3-4
300:Functions
201:$ 135,468
190:$ 135,468
179:$ 135,468
155:Pay scale
61:SFS rank
877:Pakistan
862:Malaysia
764:Diplomat
723:Concepts
490:Archived
458:17 April
377:31 March
333:See also
171:Maximum
168:Minimum
143:Protocol
872:Nigeria
847:Ireland
832:Germany
266:History
77:(FE-CA)
882:Russia
837:Greece
827:France
810:Canada
805:Brazil
644:
625:
165:Grade
83:(O-10)
857:Japan
852:Italy
842:India
815:China
452:(PDF)
350:Notes
125:(O-7)
111:(O-8)
100:ES-6
97:(O-9)
86:ES-6
41:ranks
642:ISBN
623:ISBN
460:2024
435:2015
379:2008
19:The
25:SFS
973::
757:/
599:.
580:.
561:.
425:.
365:.
313:.
139:.
708:e
701:t
694:v
650:.
631:.
476:.
462:.
437:.
381:.
23:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.