"Though any person can be appointed by the State's national government to conduct said state's relations with other States or international organizations, a number of States maintain an institutionalized group of career diplomats—that is, public servants with a steady professional connection to the country's foreign ministry.The term "career diplomat" is used worldwide in opposition to "political appointees" (that is, people from any other professional backgrounds who may equally be designated by an official government to act as diplomats abroad).