...PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Former President Bill Clinton became the U.N.'s first special envoy to Haiti on Tuesday, bringing an unmatched combination of local popularity and global star power to help a country devastated by political turmoil, poverty and natural disasters.... what exactly is an envoy? Is it like an ambassador?
en⋅voy1 /ˈɛnvɔɪ, ˈɑn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [en-voi, ahn-] Show IPA –noun 1. a diplomatic agent. 2. any accredited messenger or representative. 3. Also called envoy extraordinary, minister plenipotentiary. a diplomatic agent of the second rank, next in status after an ambassador. God help Haiti.
So anyone can be an envoy. The pizza delivery man is an envoy of Pizza Hut. Oh wait, its higher than an ambassador? What comes next in the chain of command then? (and thanks buffy)
I'm not sure there is one. An envoy speaks specifically on behalf of a person or institution. An ambassador speaks on behalf of the entire government (usually). An envoy is usually someone of immense stature who is appointed to bring more notoriety to an place or issue. The next step up, it would appear, is an actual director, secretary. Above that would be the leader him or herself. ~String
