Designing Competency Model for the Ambassadors of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In the classical diplomacy, an ambassador was only supposed to defend his/her country's national interests in the foreign country, and to communicate messages between the two countries' officials. Due to development of communication systems, the increasing diversity of ambassadors' work, and the variety of embassy staff in terms of expertise and the like, the role of ambassadors has gradually changed. Given the changing nature of ambassadors’ responsibilities, in the diplomatic scene, and especially due to the features of the Islamic Republic of Iran, this research is intended to design the model of competency for the ambassadors of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This research follows a qualitative method of thematic analysis. Research data is collected, up to theoretical saturation stage, from three sources of interviews with ambassadors and former diplomats of the Islamic Republic of Iran in different countries, articles written and interviews published by former European ambassadors, and the speeches of the Supreme Leader to the ambassadors and managers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Accordingly, data analysis in several stages of coding using MAXQDA software, resulted in six main themes based on which the model of competency of the ambassadors of the Islamic Republic of Iran was designed. It consisted of six layers of "Islamic and national values", "ethical characteristics, personal and general features", "special and general knowledge", " experience ", " mental and communicative capabilities", and "managerial, logical and communicative skills".

Keywords


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