Wiktionary
n. A diplomat, ranking below an ambassador, who heads a diplomatic mission when no ambassador is present, either temporarily (in the interim between the departure of one ambassador and the accreditation of another) or for an extended time.
WordNet
n. the official temporarily in charge of a diplomatic mission in the absence of the ambassador
Wikipedia
A chargé d'affaires, often shortened to chargé, is a diplomat who heads an embassy in the absence of the ambassador. The term is French for "charged with (in charge of) matters".
A chargé enjoys the same privileges and immunities as a regular ambassador. However, chargés d'affaires are outranked by ambassadors and have lower precedence at formal diplomatic events. In most cases, a diplomat would only serve as a chargé d'affaires on a temporary basis in the absence of the ambassador. In unusual situations, a chargé d'affaires may be appointed for an indefinite period, in cases where disputes between the two countries make it impossible or undesirable to send agents of a higher diplomatic rank.
- redirect Chargé d'affaires
Usage examples of "charge d'affaires".
He only hoped that these tiles would be enough to satisfy Major Batenin and that the charge d'affaires would shortly return to Moscow.
It seems that the charge d'affaires there is about to return to Moscow with unspecified stolen U.
They could hear the Silsviss behind them, arguing points of the Confederation treaty with the Charge d'Affaires.
Pug had ventured to talk to the charge d'affaires, whose only comment had been a subtle smile.
The Humber Imperial was full: the Charge d'Affaires, Third Secretary, Loman, Kuo, one armed guard and myself.
And whatever Jefferson's exact words may have been, clearly the charge d'affaires was led to conclude that the difficulties of the moment were not a question of American regard for France, but of the difficult, unpopular, aberrant old man who temporarily held office as President.
Eight days after the Marquis de Saligny's (French charge d'affaires) arrival in Houston, he was summoned before a magistrate, and, upon the oaths of the parties, found guilty of having passed seven hundred dollars in false notes to a land speculator.
The German charge d'affaires was affable, genial, a fluent English-speaker who'd worked hard to put the best face on the activities of the Nazi government until Hitler declared war on the United States.
Staying at the same hotel as the German charge d'affaires hadn't been high on his list of things to anticipate, either.