Those Were the Days

The Economist recently had a short article on the lives of diplomats. In short, the article talks of how there used to be an unspoken agreement that diplomats would receive lesser, government-level salary in exchange for the glamourous life of living the high life in foreign countries where our currency was much more valuable. Of course, these days there are more diplomats living and working in places like Iraq, West Africa, and Pakistan than in Paris and Florence.

The changes in the American diplomatic service are the most dramatic. Every summer, the State Department rotates some 3,000 overseas positions, slightly under half its total stock of jobs abroad. In the summer of 2001, just before the September 11th attacks, some 200 positions were “unaccompanied” classed as too dangerous for children, and in some cases even spouses. That has risen fourfold, to around 800. Many are one-year postings in Iraq and Afghanistan, which need fresh volunteers each summer.

You can read the entire article here.