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Title 22 — Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§3927 Chief of mission

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 52— - FOREIGN SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - MANAGEMENT OF SERVICE › § 3927

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The President puts the chief of mission in charge of running and supervising all U.S. executive branch employees in that country. The chief must stay up to date on U.S. activities there and make sure those employees follow the chief’s directions. Agencies with staff in the country must keep the chief informed and make their employees follow the chief’s directions. These rules do not apply to Voice of America correspondents on official assignment or to employees under a U.S. area military commander. The chief of mission must also make promoting U.S. goods and services for export, and protecting U.S. economic and commercial interests in that country, a main job.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §3927

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Under the direction of the President, the chief of mission to a foreign country—
(1)shall have full responsibility for the direction, coordination, and supervision of all Government executive branch employees in that country (except for Voice of America correspondents on official assignment and employees under the command of a United States area military commander); and
(2)shall keep fully and currently informed with respect to all activities and operations of the Government within that country, and shall insure that all Government executive branch employees in that country (except for Voice of America correspondents on official assignment and employees under the command of a United States area military commander) comply fully with all applicable directives of the chief of mission.
(b)Any executive branch agency having employees in a foreign country shall keep the chief of mission to that country fully and currently informed with respect to all activities and operations of its employees in that country, and shall insure that all of its employees in that country (except for Voice of America correspondents on official assignment and employees under the command of a United States area military commander) comply fully with all applicable directives of the chief of mission.
(c)Each chief of mission to a foreign country shall have as a principal duty the promotion of United States goods and services for export to such country.
(d)Each chief of mission to a foreign country shall have as a principal duty the promotion of United States economic and commercial interests in such country.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–94 added subsec. (d). 2002—Subsecs. (a)(1), (2), (b). Pub. L. 107–228 inserted “Voice of America correspondents on official assignment and” after “except for”. 1987—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–204, § 136(1), (2), inserted “executive branch” after “Government” in par. (1) and after second reference to “Government” in par. (2). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–204, § 136(3), inserted “executive branch” after “Any”. 1982—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–241 added subsec. (c).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 3927

Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73