Key Officers of U.S. Foreign Service Posts, 1966-2017

Quarterly observations from 1966 to 2017 track the names, locations, and key personnel of U.S. overseas diplomatic posts. David Lindsey compiled this micro-level dataset for the Measuring Diplomacy Project. It includes identifiers for top-ranking officers and post classifications, such as embassies, consulates, and missions.

Use Cases

• Modeling predictors of diplomatic representation based on post locations and classifications.
• Studying the effects of diplomacy using the identities and positions of key officers.
• Analyzing factors for promotion through the foreign service ranks using officer identifiers and position categories.

Strengths

• Quarterly observations over a 51-year period from 1966 to 2017.
• Covers multiple post types including embassies, consulates, and missions to international organizations.
• Includes unique identifiers for individual officers, enabling longitudinal tracking.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data ends in 2017; freshness should be verified for contemporary analysis.

Provenance

Source

Measuring Diplomacy Project Dataverse, author David Lindsey.

Collection Method

Likely compiled from official U.S. government records and diplomatic lists.

Time Range

1966 to 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-27 13:51:49; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global coverage of U.S. overseas diplomatic posts.