Diplomatic uniform

Until the late 18th century, diplomats (who usually belonged to the high nobility) wore their own court clothing to solemn occasions. Diplomatic uniforms were first introduced by France in 1781 and widely adopted by other European nations around 1800 in the course of administrative reforms undertaken as a response to the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. In several countries, diplomatic uniforms were among the first civilian (as opposed to military) uniforms to be adopted. Apart from saving diplomats (who now increasingly were not independently wealthy) the expense of maintaining a full court wardrobe, diplomatic uniforms served to emphasize the importance of the office and to deemphasize the person of its holder. Several non-European courts adopted European-style diplomatic uniforms during the 19th century. Notably, Japan during the Meiji Revolution introduced European uniforms instead of traditional clothing for all officials in 1872. gives descriptions of the diplomatic uniforms still being worn by representatives of the majority of states then in existence. These included most European nations and a number of Latin American and Asian countries. It is however noted that several states which had only been created following World War I, had not adopted diplomatic uniforms and that others had discarded them. The uniforms described are nearly all of the traditional style of bicorne hat and tailcoat with braiding according to grade, from third secretaries to ambassadors. Consular staff were less likely to have authorised uniforms than their diplomatic colleagues and where consular uniforms existed they were generally of simpler style. As an example, the British Consular Service had silver braiding rather than the gold of diplomats. While most countries abandoned diplomatic uniforms at some time during the 20th century, several long-established foreign services have retained them for wear by senior staff on ceremonial occasions such as the formal presentation of credentials by ambassadors. A photo of the 2001 New Year's reception at the Vatican shows the ambassadors of Monaco, the Netherlands, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Belgium all clad in diplomatic uniform. Denmark, France, Italy, Portugal, and Kyrgyzstan have also been seen in uniform at the presentation of their credentials. ==Design==

, wearing Belgian diplomatic uniform (2011) Diplomatic uniforms generally followed 19th century court fashion and usually included a tailcoat with standing collar, breeches or pantaloons, a sword and a two-cornered plumed hat ("bicorne"). There were normally at least two versions, a dress uniform for ceremonial events and a simpler version for less formal occasions which nevertheless required the use of uniform dress. Belgian diplomats of all ranks had "royal blue" tail coats and retained the 18th century fashion of white breeches and stockings with low shoes. Today, Belgian diplomats wear blue and gold waist sashes, Spanish diplomats red cuffs on their dark blue tail-coats, and Danish diplomats distinctive red coats. ==By country==

France Elaborately embroidered dress for French diplomats, counsellors of state and other high ranking civilian officials evolved during the Second Empire. These in turn served as a model for othe European states, being known as (French clothes). Worn for ceremonial occasions by all ranks of the diplomatic service until World War II, these richly decorated garments were retained for ambassadors only until 1960. Germany In 1817, Prussian diplomats received as uniforms dark blue tail coats with cuffs and a standing collar of black velvet, decorated with oak leaf scrolls embroidered in gold. In 1888, the German Empire introduced the , a long military-style coat, as the general state uniform for high-ranking officials. in particular the article No. 24, annex "A" No. 334, repealed the 1928 royal decree. Currently it is not clear whether the diplomatic uniform is still formally authorised or not, since the 1948 presidential decree has not been repealed. Japan embroidery (1937) Following the Meiji Restoration, the released an edict on 12 December 1872, implementing regulations for the uniforms of civil officials and nobles, and issuing another edict on 29 December of that year regulating their proper wear. Three of the highest subcategories of civil officials were allocated specific court (diplomatic) uniforms: , , and . On 4 December 1886, the designs of the court uniforms for civil officials were modified, but the designs for junior officials were not updated; due to the high cost of formal court dress, junior civil officials wore standard white tie court dress from then on. On 2 March 1908, an Imperial edict established substitute court uniforms for diplomats dispatched to the tropics or very hot areas. Later, on 29 September 1926, another Imperial edict established alternative court uniforms and court dress, consisting of white tropical tunics, for Japanese officials in the South Pacific. The standard diplomatic uniform for officials in the three primary categories of the Imperial Japanese diplomatic service (, and ) consisted of a black wool frock coat with gold-embroidered paulownia flowers () or buds ( and ) with gold-embroidered paulownia leaves and ornamentation in patterns and in areas of the coat corresponding to the respective category. The uniform coat was worn with a wool vest (waistcoat) in black or dark gray ( and ) or in navy blue (), with wool trousers in the same colors, again corresponding to category. All officials in the three primary categories wore a plumed bicorne hat with their uniforms, with the right side of the hat embellished according to category. Civil officials below the level used standard white-tie court dress. However, the higher-ranking among these affixed symbols of their ranks to each cuff. Diplomats who were also peers (, ) could also wear the established uniforms corresponding to their rank, as could former or serving officers of the Imperial Japanese military. Japanese court and diplomatic dress ceased to be worn after World War II, with the abolition of the pertinent Imperial Household Agency edicts (effective 2 May 1947) and the pertinent Dajō-kan edicts on 1 July 1954, respectively. Poland The Second Polish Republic used diplomatic uniforms, similar to other European countries. Ambassadors and ministers had full embroidery of oak leaves on their chests, collars and cuffs, and white ostrich feathers on a bicorne. Counsellors did not have full embroidery on their chests, but had similar collars and cuffs to Ambassadors. Secretaries were similar to counsellors but did not have embroidery on the collar. Counsellors, secretaries and attachés had black ostrich feathers on a bicorne. Consuls and their staff did not have feathers in bicornes or full embroidery on their chest. Sabres were also used, and buttons on the uniform had a depiction of the Polish eagle. The Third Polish Republic, however, does not use diplomatic uniform. Portugal Although the diplomatic uniform was already in use during the Portuguese Constitutional Monarchy, the first official description of the diplomatic uniform was only coded into law on 4 January 1913, in order to expressly harmonise it with the new national symbols of the Portuguese Republic, established as a result of the 5 October 1910 revolution. The matter of an updated uniform bearing the new national symbols not having been issued shortly following the revolution had been noticed as early as 1911, when Manuel Teixeira Gomes, the first Minister Plenipotentiary to be sent to the Court of St James's by the republican government, had to present his credentials to King George V in "evening dress with trousers". The diplomatic uniform, as described in the 1913 decree, comprised "dark blue gold-striped cloth trousers and a single-breasted coatee of the same cloth with a stand collar". For heads of mission, First and Second Class, the coatee's collar, chest, cuffs, pocket flaps and tails edge were all to be decorated with gold embroidery; lower-rank diplomats did not bear gold embroidery on their chest. The buttons were gilt and bore the national coat of arms. The sword should bear the same arms, and was mounted on an embroidered sword belt. The uniform was worn with a cocked hat with a black feather border. According to Bouza Serrano, there is a tradition amongst members of the Portuguese diplomatic service to keep their uniforms unaltered and not add the additional oak-leaf gold embroidery on the chest upon reaching the rank of Ambassador. This served to distinguish between career diplomats and political appointees, the latter of which were immediately entitled to use the elaborately embroidered uniform; the former retained their less ornate uniform from their time as Counsellor as a mark of seniority, changing only the colour of the feathers on the edging of their hats from black to white. But it was not until 1943 that a uniform was introduced for NKID staff, consisting of a three-piece uniform suit with gold-plated buttons and shoulder straps. The everyday uniform was grey and the dress uniform, which included a dagger, was black. Accoutrements included a coat, raincoat, hat and an ornate cap with the diplomatic insignia. The black dress uniform was similar to the Nazi SS uniform; the Soviet diplomat Victor Israelyan recounted that during World War II he was once given the Hitler salute and a loud "Heil Hitler!" by a German prisoner of war who mistook him for an SS officer. Spain ). The Spanish diplomatic uniform is among the few still in active use, retained primarily by monarchies for ceremonial gala occasions. Its design has changed little since the nineteenth century. Following the unification of the Spanish diplomatic and consular career tracks in 1928, a single uniform model has applied to all members of the service. The identifying symbols and regulations governing its use were codified in the Organic Regulations of the Diplomatic Career ('''') of 15 July 1955, with current specifications defined by the Ministerial Order of 3 October 1997, published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado. The men's uniform consists of a dark navy blue tailcoat bearing three embroidered lyres distributed across the back. The stand collar, 5 cm wide, is embroidered with bullion, herringbone trim, palms, and oak leaves. The chest closes with nine large gilt buttons engraved with the constitutional coat of arms, and the shoulder boards carry a twisted gold cord secured by a smaller gilt button bearing the same device. The most visually distinctive feature of the Spanish uniform is its red cloth cuffs (''''), embroidered with a design of palms and oak leaves matching that of the pocket flaps. All edges are trimmed with bullion and herringbone work. The coat is lined in white satin at the upper body and red satin in the tails. Blue trousers with a 50 mm gold thread stripe along the side complete the garment. The uniform is worn with a bicorne hat, black shoes, and a dress sword suspended from a sword belt on the left side. A women's version of the uniform was established under the same 1997 order. It consists of a short dark blue wool jacket with the same collar embroidery as the men's uniform, closing with seven gilt buttons, and red cloth cuffs embroidered in the same motifs. The skirt reaches the ankle in a fitted tube silhouette with a long slit for ease of movement. Sweden , 2016 The current Swedish diplomatic uniform consists of a dark blue tailcoat with gold olive-leaf embroidery on the collar, chest and cuffs with gilt buttons. Dark blue trousers with gold stripes, dark blue cape and a bicorne with a white plume are also worn, plus white gloves and a gilt smallsword. The diplomatic uniform is typically worn by Swedish officials accompanying foreign ambassadors to their presentation of credentials ceremony in Stockholm. Switzerland in uniform as ambassador to Austria, 1890s The 1915 regulations of the Federal Political Department instructed Swiss diplomats to wear "a uniform or a tailcoat (white tie)" when presenting their letters of credence. Swiss diplomats received a blue "Alpine rose tailcoat", a uniform with gold-embroidered alpine roses and edelweiss (the Swiss national flowers), for use on formal occasions. They could, however, wear a black tailcoat (white tie) or their own military uniform instead. The uniform appears to have been abandoned some time after World War II, in the course of the democratisation of the diplomatic service and the introduction of an admission competition, the concours diplomatique, developed by Walter Stucki and introduced in 1956. That the loss of their uniform dismayed some diplomats is reflected in the existence, , of an "association for the reintroduction of the diplomatic uniform", founded and led by State Secretary Franz Blankart. United Kingdom Historical wearing the old-style ambassador's uniform British diplomats wore the official court uniform consisting of a dark blue high-collar tailcoat with gold oak-leaf embroidery on the collar, chest, cuffs and long tails; white breeches were worn, or else dark blue trousers with gold stripes, and a cocked hat edged with white ostrich plumes. A white uniform, with similar but detachable panels of gold embroidery on the collar and cuffs, was worn in tropical postings. Ambassadors wore '1st Class' court uniform, with additional gold embroidery on the sleeve and back seams. More junior officers wore different classes of uniform with simplified braiding on cuffs and collars only, as specified for their rank or appointment, (the classes of uniform were differentiated by varying widths of gold embroidery). Members of the Consular Service wore court uniforms with silver braiding according to rank, in contrast to the gold of diplomatic officers. The King's or Queen's Foreign Service Messengers were entitled to '5th Class' court uniform, upgraded to '4th Class' in 1929. , British Consul General, in full consular uniform on his departure from Shanghai in 1940 In 1953 the uniform regulations were revised. The new Foreign Service uniform was 'to be worn at diplomatic and consular posts alike'. Until about 1965 Foreign Office Regulations and Consular Instructions required even junior foreign service officers to acquire this formal dress, following completion of their probation period. However, by the end of the 20th century the use of this uniform had greatly diminished. Current Diplomatic uniform is still worn in certain jurisdictions by members of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service on formal occasions such as the presentation of credentials. As worn by Deputy Heads of Mission, the uniform consists of a dark blue single-breasted tail coat, lined with black silk, with gilt buttons; the stand collar and gauntlet cuffs are faced with black velvet and edged with gold lace. It is worn with dark trousers or skirt, a bicorn hat, white gloves and a gold-mounted sword. Heads of Mission have, in addition, gold embroidery on the collar and cuffs, gold stripes on the trousers and a white ostrich-feather edging to the hat. Jurisdictions where it is worn include the Holy See, Spain and Thailand. In addition, it is worn by the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and by certain senior Foreign Office officials. A tropical version is also worn (e.g. in Thailand and Malaysia). A version for women was introduced in 2013; previously they only had the option of a silver-gilt badge of office (the royal cypher encircled by the words "Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service") hung from a Garter-blue ribbon bow. United States American diplomats were first issued uniforms for the mission concluding the 1814 Treaty of Ghent; these consisted of a blue gold-embroidered coat, white breeches and stockings, a sword and a cocked hat with a black cockade. U.S. diplomats routinely designed and wore uniforms of their own choosing until 1817, when the State Department formally prescribed a uniform for ministers based on the one issued for the Ghent mission. This uniform was recommended for use by all ministers abroad by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams in 1823. This caused some discomfort to American diplomats, who now had to appear "underdressed", in evening dress, to official functions. In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt attracted considerable attention when he was one of the few foreign representatives at the funeral of King Edward VII who was not in civil or military uniform. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order directing that no person in the diplomatic or consular service should wear a uniform or official costume not previously authorized by the United States Congress. ==References==