Diplomatic illness explained

Diplomatic illness is the practice amongst diplomats and government ministers of feigning illness, or another debilitating condition, to avoid engaging in diplomatic or social engagements.^[1] The excuse of ill-health is designed to avoid formally offending the host or other parties.^{[2] [3]} The term also refers to the period during which the "diplomatic illness" is claimed to persist.

Examples

• General John J. Pershing, on his return in 1926 from unsuccessful negotiations between Peru, Bolivia and Chile and suffering from ill-health, was stated by his critics to have a "diplomatic illness".^[4]
• During the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia in 1948, foreign minister Jan Masaryk was thought to have a "diplomatic illness", as he stayed out of touch with many of his former foreign contacts.^[5]
• A temporary absence of Bosnian Serb leader Ratko Mladic, at a time in 1995 when Bosnian Serb forces were withdrawing near Sarajevo under an agreement with NATO, was ascribed by some sources to "diplomatic illness".^[6]
• Boris Yeltsin, the then leader of the Russian Federation, was sometimes claimed to be invoking "diplomatic illness". One occasion was in 1994 on the outbreak of the First Chechen War;^[7] another coincided with a 1998 summit meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States,^[8] and another was in 1999 when he was due to sign a treaty with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. The allegations were dubious, as Yeltsin suffered from repeated genuine bouts of ill-health.^[9]
• Polish leader Lech Kaczyński cited illness to avoid a Weimar Triangle meeting in the wake of a diplomatic dispute with Germany in 2006.^[10]

Related terms

• William Gladstone referred to a "diplomatic cold" as an alternative to declining a social engagement outright.
• Neville Chamberlain is reported to have contracted "diplomatic gout" in 1938.
• Polite fiction

Notes and References

1. Book: G. Berridge. L. Lloyd. The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Diplomacy. 25 January 2012. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 978-1-137-01761-1. 79.
2. http://legaldictionary.lawin.org/diplomatic-illness/ Definition in The Legal Dictionary
3. http://www.ediplomat.com/nd/glossary.htm#D Glossary of Diplomatic Terms
4. Book: Don M. Coerver. Linda Biesele Hall. Tangled Destinies: Latin America and the United States. 1999. UNM Press. 978-0-8263-2117-6. 75.
5. Book: Slovak studies. 1981. 207. Slovak Institute.
6. ADRIAN BROWN. "Bosnian Serb forces withdraw heavy artillery from Sarajevo." The Irish Times. September 20, 1995.
7. Book: R. W. Holder. Dictionary of Euphemisms. 25 September 2008. OUP Oxford. 978-0-19-923517-9. 152.
8. MITCHELL LANDSBERG. "Yeltsin regains voice, resumes work at suburban residence." AP Online. Press Association, Inc. March 18, 1998.
9. News: Goble. Paul. Russia: Analysis From Washington -- A Diplomatic Illness?. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. November 9, 1999.
10. News: Krysia . Kolosowska . A diplomatic illness? . Polskie Radio . January 5, 2007 . 2007-04-25 .